Alpha Force: Slave Fraud
by spinkle22
Summary: For a couple years, a nasty organisation has been operating in Texas, causing distress for many people. When Alpha Force stumble across the situation, can they do anything at all to help?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer**

I do not own any of Alpha Force or the characters or anything - they're all Chris Ryan's. Except for the ones I made up.

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**Chapter One**

**Prologue**

* * *

As soon as he heard the three sharp knocks on the door, Michael knew it couldn't be good news. It never was. The last time he'd heard that sound, in his old house, it had been the police. To inform them that his father had died in a car accident. He looked up from his seat at the wooden table in the corner, with his three-month-old magazine spread out on the crossword page. His mother, Debbie, a retired teacher, stood up wearily from her chair in the middle of the damp room and headed slowly for the door. She was in her late-fifties, but her face was aged harder with deep lines and circles around her eyes, eyes which had been exhausted for living as a single mother for nearly six years.

Debbie reached the door and opened it partially. It creaked from the effort and threatened to fall off its hinges. Debbie sent her son a meaningful look before turning her attention to the caller. Michael knew what she meant. He'd been promising to get around to fixing the door for weeks now, but hadn't had the time. He was out all day working at the garage down the road, with his younger brother David, to earn money for their keep. He made a mental note to start once the caller had left.

"Mrs Foreman?" The voice was female, but sharp and blunt, starved of emotion. Michael moved his head to get a better look.

"Yes? Who are you?" Debbie replied, making no move to invite the woman in. She was tall and slim, with her hair pulled tightly back into a high bun. The pressure seemed to distort her face, pulling back the skin and making her unable to show any proper facial expressions. She was wearing a short skirt with a casual shirt and blazer - a business woman. Michael found his face twisting into a grimace unintentionally. He hated her already.

"Do you mind if I come in, darling?" Michael hated people who used the word 'darling' with strangers. It showed how shallow they were; how little the word meant to them. This woman didn't even wait for an answer. She stepped inside the house and shivered slightly, a tiny flicker of disgust dancing over her face before she resumed her flat expression. "For the sake of conversation, you can call me Erica. It's cold in here, isn't it?" Erica sat down on the chair that Debbie had been sat in. Debbie stood stock still at the door, staring at the younger woman with a flinty expression on her usually-warm face.

"Is it really? We've never noticed." Michael smiled inwardly. He knew his mother felt the same way about Erica as he did. Erica didn't seem to register the sarcasm and leaned back in the chair. "What is it you want?" Debbie asked pointedly, folding her arms.

"I've heard you're struggling financially. Like most of the people round here." Michael's eyes narrowed. They used to live in the midst of El Paso - a lively city in Texas. He'd had great friends and been one of the most popular people in school. He'd been promised a car for his seventeenth birthday, but could never see that happening now. He used to go downtown with his mates all the time, and spend freely on clothes with his parents' bank card. Not without their permission - they'd let him. He'd been a normal guy, leading a normal, American life.

"We get by." Debbie replied.

"I'm sure you do," Erica said, but her voice said the exact opposite. Her face was heavily made up, to cover her real face. If she even had one, Michael thought. What did she want, anyway? A survey? "I'm here to offer your boys a job."

That was not what they had been expecting. There was silence for a few moments, while Michael watched his mother's face go through a series of emotions. First there was surprise, then disbelief, then hope, and then she covered it all up with a sceptical frown. "They already have jobs."

"Really? Where?" Debbie didn't reply, she just raised her eyebrows in a questioning manner. Michael noticed that Erica was smiling. It was nothing different; she'd been smiling the whole time. But it had been so fake that he hadn't noticed. He hated her even more for it. He despised people like her. People who tried to look like they were doing something good, but in reality were just thinking of themselves. She was probably just doing a job for her boss, for some extra money. Money. Erica looked up to where the old photo of Michael's father hung. It was the last picture that had been taken of him before he died, and the original copy. It was damp and curling at the edges, but the face was still clear. His father was smiling. Not a fake smile, like Erica's, but a genuine, happy smile. Somewhere around the edges were Michael and David, held lovingly in their father's strong arms, but their faces had been worn away by the constant moving around and dampness from the walls. But their father's face remained, and that was all that was important.

"Is this your late husband?" Michael wanted to smash her face in until the smile disappeared. She seemed incapable of portraying any further emotions. And now she was trying to mentally break Debbie, try and make her see her own way, trying to get involved in the parts of Michael's life where he wanted her the least. Debbie's mouth tightened into a thin line.

"Yes." She said curtly. Erica ignored her reluctance and continued to study the picture.

"You must miss him very much, my sweet. And you must struggle so much with money - now that your main source of income has - " Erica paused " - deceased?" Michael stood up. He couldn't bear to hear any more.

"I'm going to the other room." He didn't need to explain which room; the house only had two, plus a bathroom. He and David slept in one, while Debbie slept in this one, on the sofa. It wasn't convenient, but -

"Like I said, we get by." Was the last thing Michael heard before he went into his bedroom and slammed the door shut. He immediately regretted it as the door fell slightly further off its hinges. It wasn't exactly soundproof, either. David was lying on his bed, reading a comic. He looked up as his older brother entered the room.

"Who is it?" He asked. Michael scowled and walked over to his own bed. David was thirteen; just over a year younger than him. He was your typical younger brother, annoying at times, but growing more mature and more like a friend than a brother as time went on.

"Bloody business woman. One of them, if you know what I mean." Michael cast David a significant look, who understood and turned back to his comic. People like Erica had worked with their father and had often paid visits to their mansion in the city, to work with their father on 'business'. Although the boys had only been eight and ten at the time, the numerous visits had imprinted an image in their heads of the likes of them. Michael sat down and remembered his magazine he'd left in the main room. Damn. He'd nearly finished the crossword, but he wasn't going back in to get it. Not while _she _was here, at any rate.

He tried to shut out the voices of the two women talking next door. If it was anything important, Debbie would tell him later. He strained his ears to find something else to focus on, some other sound to capture his attention. He could hear the wind sliding through the mountain ranges above, like a lone man grieving or calling for help. A lone man with family, kids.

Here they were sheltered from the wind. They lived in a valley, with numerous other folk who had been forced to move from the city when their luck ran out. He knew most of them, but not why they were there. It wasn't something that was done around there - you kept your past to yourself but shared your present with those around you. The future was unknown. This little village was a small line of houses, mostly made with wood but some of brick or stone. Some of the houses had been standing for years. There was one farmer where they got their food, and a garage down the road where David and Michael worked. It was surrounded by the El Paso Mountain range, and from the valley, it looked as though the whole world was cut off. But Michael knew that just over one of those peaks was the city where he was born and brought up, where he would probably never see again. Before he'd had to move here, he hadn't even known that places like this existed. He doubted that his friends from the city still did. He hadn't seen them for nearly six years, and he hadn't even been given a chance to say goodbye. They'd been forced out of their house when they couldn't afford to pay for it any longer, and he hadn't even told his friends he was leaving. They probably thought he was abducted or something.

He thought about Lucy - the girl who he'd dreamed of during his entire ten years in the city. He wondered where she was now, and if she had a boyfriend. She'd have breasts by now. That was a really strange thought. He remembered the last time he'd seen her, climbing into one of her friend's cars after a long day at school. She'd given Michael a small, shy, wave, but he'd seen it. She was interested, and that had given him hope. But that night he'd been shoved out of his house, to find a place somewhere else. And he'd travelled for miles with his mother and brother, in the range rover, and discovered this tiny village on the outskirts of El Paso. But it would do. They'd get by.

But at least Michael and David had met new friends. There was Sam, just down the road, in the year between them. He was funny, and cheerful, and had helped Michael to get used to life the hard way. Janie lived a few doors away, the shy girl with the thick glasses, who had always been there to lend an ear. Greg and Alice, the twins. And a few others, too.

The women had stopped talking. Whether Erica had left, or if they were just having an awkward silence, Michael didn't know.

"Mum's calling you." David called, not looking up from the comic. Michael sighed and stood up, opening the door. Debbie had finally sat down, in the harder armchair opposite Erica. Erica was turning around, smiling at him. He decided never to trust smiles again.

"Mike, honey, sit down." It was the same tone that Debbie had used when their father had just died. Michael sat. "They're building a new house, a mansion, a few kilometres away. Its - I don't know. Let Erica explain." Debbie retreated into her seat, and Erica swivelled around to face Michael.

"Someone important is moving to a place near hear, sweetheart. He was going to have his accommodation built prior to his arrival, but unfortunately there's been a delay with the builders. We're trying to get as many as we can. The more we get, the easier the work will be. We'll be offering you 25 a week." Twenty-five dollars a week wasn't much, but it was more than they already earned. Michael's car popped into his head before he could stop it, and he immediately felt guilty.

"Michael," Debbie ventured, "Look at me. The site's nearly twenty kilometres away, and you can't walk that far there and back. I'd take you by car, but we don't have one. But they're offering you dormitories on site, no extra charge. It's a great opportunity, for you and David. Sam and Greg are going too."

The door opened, and David stood there, leaning against the frame. "I'll go, if you want us to." He said, almost casually. Michael glared at him. If David went, he'd have to go too. Not only to avoid a guilty conscience, but to make sure that David didn't get into any trouble. He was about to object when Erica stood up abruptly.

"Right, well that's sorted then. Work starts at eight o'clock tomorrow morning, if you - "

"Woah - hold on - " Michael held up his hands, and Erica stopped at the door, the smile still in place. She was probably surprised, Michael thought bitterly, but she couldn't quite move her eyebrows enough to show it. "We haven't agreed yet."

"Michael Foreman, will you be accompanying your brother or not?" Michael paused. She'd put him in a really awkward situation. He looked at David, who was staring shiftily at his feet. He immediately felt guilty for the look he'd given him - David had only wanted to help, to get money for his family. He glanced at Debbie, who was staring up at him, with a look in her eyes that could almost have been fear. He looked at Erica, who was smiling at him expectantly.

He nodded, and Erica left.

There was silence in the room for a few moments. What have I done, thought Michael. He didn't even know how long they'd be away for, and what if something happened to Debbie while they were gone? Debbie spoke up, "I guess you boys had better start packing. Take as much as you can. You don't know how long you'll be."

And they both went to pack in silence.

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**Well, there you go! The first chapter of my new fic. I've decided to take this one slow, so there might not be a bit of action for a while, but I promise there will be! Let me know what you think, what you'd like to see, etc. Obviously I haven't mentioned Alpha Force yet - this is just the prologue. But don't worry, they'll be here soon! Don't forget to CC :P**


	2. El Paso

**Chapter Two**

**El Paso**

* * *

"Just over the next hill, guys." Alex called encouragingly over his shoulder.

"What's over the next hill? Another one?" Amber muttered, dragging her backpack on the floor.

"You're going to get even more tired if you carry your bag like that. Put it back on your shoulders." Paulo suggested, overtaking Amber to walk with the others. Amber scowled behind his back.

"Nah, I mean where we can set up camp for the night." Alex replied. It had been his idea to go for a three-day hike in some mountains. Why he had chosen the steepest, highest and most impossible to climb that Amber had ever seen, she didn't know. But the weather was really hot, the ground was dry and she could feel sweat pouring down her back. She didn't appreciate it as much as they'd hoped.

"There aren't even any trees. What kind of country doesn't have trees?"

"There are trees, Amber, you just can't see them." Hex said in a patronizing voice. Amber glared at him, and he quickly turned around again.

It was the attraction of a hike that had originally brought Alpha Force here. Not just any old hike, but a chance to test their survival skills even further in a harsh landscape. They were a tight-knit team, who travelled around the world when they weren't at school, making small differences where they could and helping people who couldn't help themselves. Amber, Li, Paulo, Hex and Alex. They had formed a couple years ago, when they were marooned on a desert island, and were forced together to benefit the best they could to survive. And they had. And they'd even decided to carry on using their skills to help others; to carry on the work of Amber's parents, who had been killed in a deliberate sabotage. They all knew the risks, but it was something they all loved doing.

Li bounced up ahead of the others. "Just a hundred more metres!" She called to the others, and started running. Alex sighed and shook his head. From here it looked like just another hundred metres, but in reality it was a couple kilometres. He'd learnt from experience that when hiking, distances could be longer than they actually looked.

"Li, it's more than that. A couple thousand." He called. Li stopped and turned around.

"What?" Alex repeated what he had said. Li was about to object, but she stopped herself. She knew that Alex was usually right; besides, he did this stuff all the time with his dad. "OK, if you say so." She waited for the others to catch up, and then turned to trudge up the rest of the mountain with them.

"That's it?" Amber said, trying to hide the disgust from her voice. Alex completely ignored her tone and turned around to see the whole view.

"Fantastic, isn't it?" He replied. Amber turned around to look. She knew it was brilliant, but she was too tired to fully appreciate it right now. She smiled weakly. The whole area within sight was rocky mountains, high and low, topped with a golden tint from the setting sun. She had to admit it was magnificent. Towards the east, she could see the faint outline of a city, the skyline showing up brightly against the darkening sky. It was miles away, but it was beautiful.

"It's all right," Hex murmured. Coming from him, it was a compliment. It took a lot from Mother Nature to impress Hex; he preferred the trustworthy confines of cyberspace. "Where's camp?" Alex pointed down the hill.

"Right on the side of this one. It's sheltered from the wind, and we're not going to get ambushed or anything." Amber snorted.

"Like who's going to ambush us? We're the only living organisms for miles around, if you hadn't noticed." Alex looked at her.

"Bandits," he said, "Robbers. They stay in groups and ambush people on their own." Li shuddered, even though it was still boiling hot. It would probably still be until the sun was safely on the other side of the world. Paulo saw her discomfort and put an arm around her shoulder.

"Do not worry, Li. Nothing will happen to us." Li grinned and took Paulo's arm off her shoulder with a surprisingly strong grip. She was a small Anglo-Chinese, but years of free-climbing and martial arts had strengthened her muscles.

"I can look after myself, _amigo_." She said, her eyes twinkling, mimicking Paulo's language. He smiled fondly back.

"We'd best get started on the camp. Are you two coming, or what?" Alex called. Paulo looked and saw that the other three had already started down the mountainside to where Alex had pointed. He started after them and Li followed. Alex pointed to a dead clump of grass a little way ahead. "By that grass, there's a good place to stop."

For the next ten minutes, Alpha Force set up camp. They'd done it so often now that they didn't even need to communicate anymore to work together. Each of them was locked in their own thoughts. Alex was in his element, surviving in hard conditions with his four best friends - the four people he was closer to than anyone else in the world. Li was tired but she still had room for a bit of action. She thought she'd better save it for tomorrow; they still had another two days' hike before they reached the hotel in El Paso they were headed for. Paulo grinned. He, like Alex, spent most of his time outdoors, and he was thoroughly enjoying himself. It reminded him a lot of his ranch back home - the hills, the uneven ground, the lack of civilization. Hex wasn't entirely comfortable with the outdoor situation, but he was still enjoying himself. He found himself constantly looking forward to being with his four friends, of whom he was closer to than anyone else in the whole world, even his own family. And knowing they felt the same way about each other, too.

Amber was getting used to the harsh conditions. A few years ago, anyone from Amber's hometown in Boston wouldn't have believed their eyes if they saw her in anything other than a comfortable, luxurious place, but she'd changed when she'd met Alpha Force. They'd all changed, but she'd changed the most. From a spoilt, rich girl who hated the world, to a happy young woman, keen on using her own benefits for helping others rather than herself. She cast a quick glance over to the others. Li and Paulo were setting up the smaller of the two tents while Hex and Alex were helping each other to set up the larger one, for the three boys. Amber herself was getting their food ready.

When they'd finished, they sat on the rough ground between the two tents with their hands wrapped around cold tins of soup. They would have built a fire, but there was no wood for miles around. They'd tried using the dried grass, but it had burnt up and out as soon as Alex had lit it. It was getting chillier, and Li shivered.

"This is a good place," Paulo said to Alex, "How did you hear about it?" Alex shrugged.

"I asked my dad for some good hiking locations. He came here on a mission once, and said it was brilliant. So I looked it up on the Internet and fell in love."

"Are there any animals around here?" Amber asked, glancing uncomfortably at the ground.

"Not at this time of year. In winter there would be, though. It gets too hot here in the summer for most creatures." Alex replied. He looked up at the sunset. He loved times like these - with Alpha Force, watching the marvels of nature. The sky was darker in the east, by the city, but a faint glow illuminated it from all the bright lights. In the west, the sky was redder, and yellow where the sun had disappeared. The whole sky was dotted with clouds, as though they had been painted by a pointillism artist. And each cloud showed the beauty of the sunset, reflected in its appearance. In the east the sky darkened, and Alex could see the first signs of stars showing behind the clouds.

"Anyone got the time?" American Amber called out. She was lying down fully on her back, watching the sky. In the distance, a tiny airplane travelled slowly across the sky.

"Nearly ten." Hex replied. He was sat, staring at the scenery, with his arms wrapped around his legs and his hoody pulled right over his chin, muffling his voice slightly. "Should get some sleep." The others murmured their agreement. They all stood up slowly, feeling the muscles in their legs beginning to ache. They shuffled to the two tents, exchanging goodnights, and within ten minutes they were all fast asleep.

* * *

"Guys? Are you awake?" Alex's voice cut through the night. He was greeted with some unhappy mumbling coming from Paulo's bed, and shuffling from Hex's corner. It was pitch dark outside. Alex looked at his watch - 3:05am.

"Wha - ?" More shuffling from Hex as he sat up, rubbing his eyes.

"Can you hear that?" Alex stayed silent for a moment, and so did the others. But the noise was gone. Alex cursed. He was sure he had heard something - otherwise what had woken him up?

"_Hombre_, Alex, you woke us up for nothing. I'm going back to sleep." The big Argentinean sounded vaguely annoyed, but not angry. Alex grinned. Typical, lazy Paulo.

"No, I'm sure I heard something. Didn't you?"

"Heard what? What was it?" Hex said. "Wait a mo." There was more fumbling from Hex's bed, when suddenly the tent was illuminated from the blue glow from Hex's palmtop screen. Alex blinked in the bright light and saw his two roommates. Paulo was nowhere in sight; he was firmly hidden down in his sleeping bag somewhere. Hex was sat up, tousle-haired and sleepy. "I think I heard something, but I thought I was dreaming. Kind of like a place full of people?"

"Yeah, that was it. From really far away."

"Maybe it was the city, being really loud."

"Will you two shut up? Some of us are trying to sleep." Paulo growled from under his sleeping bag. "And turn that bloody light off." Hex turned off his palmtop and the tent was plunged into darkness again.

"We'll ask the girls tomorrow." Alex said, before settling back down in his sleeping bag to get some more rest. Hex followed suite. But, try as they might, sleep just wouldn't come again.

* * *

Alex and Hex emerged the next morning stretching and rubbing their eyes. The other three were sat around on the ground, eating cold baked beans for breakfast.

"What time do you guys call this? I'm ashamed. Especially you, Alex." Amber tutted, looking at her watch. Alex sighed and sat down slowly, reaching for a tin from Paulo's rucksack. He was about to reply when Paulo cut in.

"Maybe you should try getting to sleep next time. Instead of waking up the whole tent."

They ate the rest of the meal in silence, thinking about the long walk they had ahead of them. Alex had said they'd probably arrive late the next day - a three-day hike. It was only about eight o'clock in the morning, but already the sun was high in the sky and it was sweltering. Alex could feel sweat beads forming all over his skin, and he'd only been outside of the tent for a couple of minutes.

"So remind me," Li commented, licking the last of her baked beans off of the lid of her tin, "Where is it we're going?"

"El Paso. Right in the centre, there're some nice hotels. Otherwise - " Alex cast a hopeful glance around the group " - we could camp out a bit longer?"

"Get out," said Amber immediately. Alex looked at her, startled, and then saw the twinkle in her eyes. He grinned back.

"We'll see," said Paulo, "Meanwhile, we should get going. Have you got the map, Amber?"

"It's in the tent."

Amber went to go and find the map, while Li cleared up their breakfast remains and Paulo started dismantling the boys' tent. Before Hex followed, Alex grabbed his arm and pulled him back.

"Was I dreaming last night, or did we really hear something?" Alex asked. Hex looked surprised for a moment, trying to work out what he was talking about.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, we did. Unless we both had the same dream." Alex paused for a moment, and then called Amber and Li.

"Hey, did you two hear anything last night?"

"Not that I can remember. Except - " Alex stared at Amber eagerly " - Li kept moving around and fidgeting. That was really annoying. Why?" Alex's shoulders sagged.

"What about you, Li?"

"Not a thing. If I did, then I was too tired to register it."

Alex glanced at Hex, and then shrugged. "Probably nothing. Come on, we'd better start helping Paulo." Hex followed Alex to where Paulo was struggling with one of the tent poles. He helped Paulo lift the pole while Alex pulled away the canvas. They worked seamlessly as a team, after years of practise. Meanwhile, Li had finished packing away the dinner and was helping Amber to sort out their tent. Ten minutes later they were all packed away, and the whole camp had been distributed between five large rucksacks, one for each of them. They stood in a circle with the bags dumped on the ground between them.

"Guess we'd better be off, then." Alex shouldered one of the bags and passed one to Li. Then the five of them set off in the harsh sunlight, using the map and the compass and trusting Amber to navigate them to the right place.

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**Hope you liked it! I always find ending a chapter really hard, because unless it's a cliffhanger, you've got to kind of sum it all up in a good sentence. Kind of failed today, but hey :P And don't forget the Pass on the Story in the Forums section!**

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	3. Lost

**Chapter Three**

**Lost**

* * *

"Right, stop here a mo - " Amber stopped and started studying the compass. The rest of Alpha Force stopped and turned around. They were a few metres away from reaching the peak of the hill, and they wanted to get there as soon as possible.

"We've just stopped for lunch," Hex called over his shoulder, rolling his eyes at Alex.

"No, really. I think we've gone wrong somewhere." Amber took her compass out of her pocket and stared at it. "No, apparently not. I just got confused about how many mountains we've been climbing today." She pocketed the map and compass and started following the others up the hill again.

"You sure? We don't want to get even more lost, if we are." Alex said, his grey eyes serious. They didn't make mistakes like that usually. Amber shrugged.

"Nah, it's fine. I was confused, that's all. The heat's getting to me."

They all trudged up the last few metres to the peak, but Hex hung back to talk to Amber.

"Are you sure you're OK? You've been taking your - "

"I'm fine, Hex." She knew what he was going to say. Amber was a diabetic and had to take regular doses of insulin to keep her blood sugar levels up. If she didn't, she could collapse and fall into a coma, or even die.

They finally reached the top and gazed out at the scenery, The glittering city in the distance was definitely closer than it had been the day before, but the mountains looked as vast and numerous as ever. They still had a good few miles to go before they reached their destination, the small village on the outskirts of El Paso. The sun was lower, but it was still hot and they were all sweating hard. Alex looked at his watch.

"Three o'clock. We're going good. We should be there by noon tomorrow, I think."

"When are we going to make camp for the night?" Li sat down and got a drink from her bag, "And, by the way, I don't have much water left." They had all brought three large bottles of water with them, but the hot climate was making them drink more than they usually did. Alex was beginning to wish he'd been more stern on the amount they should have brought.

"I know, we all are. We'll just have to be careful how much we drink. Just little bits at a time, Li - " Li stopped where she was, gulping down water, and screwed the lid back on " - you'll be surprised how much a little bit can satisfy you. I think we should go at least... five more miles before we stop. Everyone still feeling OK?" He was greeted with four grunts coming from his friends. He smiled and took a sip from his own water.

"Maybe we should do that health check thing again. Remember when we were at that sporting event, and we each gave a ranking out of five as to how we were feeling?" Paulo suggested, lying down to spread out the heat from his body.

"That's a good idea. You can be in charge, Paulo." Alex said.

* * *

"OK, how's everyone doing? Amber?"

"Negative one." Amber growled. It was the fourth time Paulo had asked in the last hour, and it was getting on her nerves. Paulo stopped, immune to her sarcasm.

"You want someone to carry your bag for you?"

"I'm fine. Three." Amber walked past Paulo and carried on. She knew she was being awkward, but she wasn't in the mood to be social. Paulo shrugged.

"Li?"

"Er... three or four-ish." Paulo had taken to asking the girls first, because, being smaller, the heat could affect them worse.

"Hex?"

"Same." Hex grunted.

"And Alex?"

"Pretty good. Four. By the way, it's getting near dusk. Amber, how far do you reckon we've got to go?" Amber stopped and took the map out of her pocket. "We're still on track, right?" Amber scanned the map, her gaze switching between the map and the landscape. She did this for a few moments, then turned to look at Alex, a shocked expression on her face.

"I don't know where we are." She said, her shoulders drooping.

"What?" Alex walked up behind her and looked at the map over her shoulder.

"Said we should have brought the sat-nav." Hex muttered, earning a warning glance from Paulo. They watched Alex's expression in anticipation. At first he didn't say anything, but concentrated on the map. Then he swore.

"There must be iron in the ground somewhere. You did keep heading east, didn't you?" Amber nodded, on the verge of tears. "It's OK. We've got mobile phones anyway. And Hex, the reason we didn't bring the sat-nav, is because if you ever get stranded in a desert, you're not going to have one with you then."

Hex looked like he was about to say something back, but then he shrugged and sat down. He knew - they all knew - that none of them meant to be annoyed. It was just the harsh weather getting to them. Alex sighed and started pacing, running his hands through his blond hair. He was supposed to be in charge here, he had to make a decision. Should they carry on, and hope that they reached somewhere quickly? Or settle down for camp and call for help? He turned to face the others.

"Right, let's have a vote. Carry on until we find civilization, because we just might be going the right way, or stop for camp and call for help?" All four of them voted to stop for camp, except for Li.

"If we've got a chance, then why not carry on? Then if we still don't get anywhere, then we can call someone." She suggested to the others.

"Because by the time we've realized we've got ourselves completely lost, we might be out of water and in a complete no-communication zone." Hex answered for her. Li hesitated, then nodded.

"OK."

"Right, so that's settled? We should make camp just a few metres down here." Alex was about to start down the hill when he heard a sound. He stopped still and listened. It was the noise he'd heard the previous night. He turned to Hex, who was staring at him with a surprised expression.

"That's it - the sound we heard, isn't it?" Alex nodded and put a finger to his lips. Although it sounded like it was a bit louder than before, it was still very faint. He couldn't think of a way to describe it, but it was big, and loud, just very far off. It sounded like a lot of people, playing? Or possibly working, or just meeting. Then on top of the crowd sounds there was banging and thumping. Thinking about it, Alex realized that nothing had actually changed in the atmosphere. The noise had been there all the time, but they'd just taken it for background atmosphere. He'd suddenly realized it because it had been gradually getting louder, and when he'd turned to go down the hill he'd had a lapse of concentration, just an urge to go to sleep.

"So you did hear something. Now let's go set up camp." Paulo said, and started moving down the side of the mountain again. The others followed.

"What does it sound like to you?" Alex asked Li, "You heard anything like it on your travels?" Li shrugged.

"Probably just a big building site." Alex nodded. That would explain the banging and thumping he'd heard. He hadn't seen anything on the map around this area, so it must be quite recent.

Once again Alpha Force set up camp in the same way they had done the previous night. Hex got out his palmtop and e-mailed John Middleton, their anchorman and Amber's uncle, while at the same time searching for a nearby settlement's number. Alex and Paulo built the boys' tent, while Li and Amber set up the girls'.

"Found anything, Hex?" Alex called, coming over to where Hex was sat over his palmtop. It was nearing five o'clock, and they were beginning to get hungry. The camp had been finished for just over an hour, and they'd all sat down to rest. It was still hot, but definitely cooler than it had been earlier. Hex sighed, wiped the sweat away from his forehead and shook his head.

"I'm trying to find a network, but there's hardly any signal around here. I will get it though." Alex sat down opposite Amber, who was injecting herself quickly.

"You think we should get some food ready?" Alex was interrupted by a thin, high-pitched scream coming from somewhere in the distance. He stopped and stayed stock still. It was gone as soon as it had come, but they'd all heard it. It had cut through the thumping like a knife through clay, and although it was miles away, it was clear and rang in their ears.

Hex swore. "What the hell was that?" Paulo and Li looked over from where they were sat, on the other side of Alex and Amber.

"Maybe it was a wild animal?" Amber suggested, but Li immediately shook her head.

"No way. It was way too clear, and besides, you don't get wild animals around here this time of year, remember?"

"Sounded like a person." Alex said.

Paulo stood up and cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hello?" He shouted. His voice echoed around the mountain range, coming back to them repeatedly until it faded itself out. There was no reply, just the steady thumping and general noise of the building site.

"Maybe someone got hurt or something at the building site. It sounded like it came from the same place." Li suggested. Alex shrugged and nodded. It didn't feel right. It didn't sound like the right kind of scream that you would hear at a building site. It wasn't a manly scream; more like a woman's, or a child's. But he didn't say anything.

"I still think we should check it out," Paulo said, worried, "Just in case. Someone could be seriously injured."

"We'll get even more lost." Hex said, but he didn't really care. He also wanted to see if everything was all right.

"A couple of us should stay here, then. I'll stay, if you like." Amber offered, but Alex shook his head.

"If anyone goes, you should Amber. You're the best at navigation. And Paulo, maybe you should go too. I'll stay here with Hex and Li." Alex proposed. Slowly the others nodded their agreement. "Right, well you two had better be off, then. It'll be dark soon. Take your rucksacks and water, and don't forget to stop for rest. Just follow the noise, and if it starts getting dark and you're not there yet, then head back imm - "

"Alex," Amber said, putting her hands on her hips, "We know. We'll be fine. Follow the noise, stop for rests and drink regularly, head back if it gets late. Got it."

Alex smiled weakly. "OK. You two take care." Paulo nodded and stood up next to Amber.

"If we're not back by dark, call for help. See you later." Paulo shouldered his bag and turned around. The noise was coming from his right. He set off towards it, and Amber followed.

* * *

"Got the number." Hex turned his palmtop around for Alex to see. "That's the local emergency number for El Paso. They'll probably be able to help." Alex copied the number onto his mobile and pressed dial.

"Where did you get the number from?" He asked Hex, as the phone started ringing. Hex gave him a pointed look, and Alex knew what he meant. It probably wasn't legal.

"Hello?" A man's strong Texas accent answered at the other end of the line. Alex suddenly froze - how was he going to explain this?

"Hey," he replied, "I'm Alex."

"Hi Alex, I'm Phil. Can I help?"

"Actually, me and four of my friends are lost in El Paso, and we're kind of low on supplies." Alex cringed. He knew how stupid he sounded, and he could see Hex smirking in the corner of his eye.

"Hex, haven't you got that GPS system on your palmtop? That can tell us where we are, can't it?" Li stood up next to Hex, who shook his head.

"Nah. That was on my old palmtop. I haven't got round to installing it on this one."

"Oh, great. Fat lot of use that it." Li sat down. Meanwhile, Alex hung up and turned to face the others with a grin on his face. He pocketed his mobile.

"Hex, I told them your e-mail address. They're going to send you the GPS for you to install." Hex nodded and lay back on his elbows. The others relaxed and stretched their tense muscles, finally glad to have some sense of direction. A few minutes later, the palmtop bleeped. Hex had a new message. He swiftly opened it, and a few minutes turned to the others with a flourish. He pointed to his left.

"When the others get back - we need to head - thataway."

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to CC! And review, of course :D**


	4. Building Site

**Chapter Four**

**Building Site**

* * *

It was nearing six o'clock by the time Amber and Paulo realised how loud the noise had gotten. They were nearly at the top of their third hill when the noise hit them like a wall.

"God - what the hell is over that thing?" Amber muttered, pulling herself up the last few metres. Her face was slightly grey. Paulo noticed, and turned around, concerned.

"When was the last time you took your insulin?" He said, staring at Amber's face. Amber looked at him blankly.

"Same as usual. I'm not due for another dose for a couple of hours."

"It's this heat. Check your blood sugar levels. You might need another one early." Amber reached into the pouch on her trousers and did what Paulo said. Paulo studied her intently, watching her hands shake slightly.

"Yeah, you're right. I need another one." Paulo turned around while Amber quickly injected herself, then stood up straight again. "Right, let's top this hill." She set off again. Paulo followed. It sounded like whatever it was - a building site? - was just over the peak. Amber reached the top first and peered over. "Oh my God." She said. She sat down on the ground and looked over at the sight that lay before her. Paulo joined her and sucked in his breath when he saw.

There was a flat area between them and the next mountain, about a mile wide. And nested in the middle of the surrounding hills was the biggest building site they had ever seen. It covered nearly half of the clearing, the foundations ready to be built upon. A plan of a giant house, or mansion - was mapped out before them, and there were hundreds of people milling about the place. They were working, carrying bricks, mixing cement and laying the bricks themselves. The plan was huge, and it needed at least a couple-hundred people to get it all done.

Upon closer inspection, Paulo saw that most of the workers were men - boys. Some of them still teenagers. They were mostly topless, wearing simple shorts or trousers, and even from where Paulo and Amber were sat on the top of the mountain, they could see sweat glistening on their backs.

"_Hombre,_" Paulo murmured. "That's one hell of a building site."

"D'you reckon it's legal? Some of them don't look any older than us." Amber replied, not taking her eyes off the scene in front of her. Paulo shrugged.

"Probably. Besides, there's so many of them. I don't see how anyone could hide this from the government."

"Maybe. We should go check it out." Amber stood up, but Paulo hesitated. They'd promised the others to just see what was going on, and then get straight back to them. Going down further could land them in even deeper trouble. Every part of him said they should go back and tell the others first, then plan it all out. But then he remembered the scream they'd heard earlier.

"OK. Get a closer look, then come straight back out. It'll be dark soon." Paulo stood up. It's OK, he thought, if anything goes wrong, we've got mobile phones. We'll be all right. The others will know what to do.

* * *

­"Who wants some yummy cold soup?" Li called. Hex was lying nearby, propped up on his elbows. He looked over at her and grimaced before turning his attention back to his palmtop. Alex was in the boys' tent, making sure his knife was still safe, but there was no reply. "It says it's mushroom, but I'm not quite sure." She said. Alex emerged from the boys' tent and stood up straight.

"What about the tomato?"

"Paulo and Amber took it. The cheek." Alex grinned and sat down opposite Li. He took one of the tins and studied the contents cautiously.

"Ah well. Can't be worse than komodo dragon." He took a spoon and put a large mouthful into his mouth, while Li watched his reaction. He shut his eyes and swallowed it with a gulp, then opened his eyes. "It's OK. Try some." Li looked miserably down at her own tin and hesitated.

"It doesn't look normal. Do you feel OK? Any stomach pains?" Alex shook his head with a wry smile and took another spoonful. Li sighed.

"Hex, come and eat. Have mine as well if you want." Hex looked over again. He shut his palmtop lid and made his way over to the other two. Alex was spooning the soup into his mouth at a high speed, as if he wanted to hurry up and get it over and done with, and Li hadn't touched it.

"It doesn't look too hopeful." He said as he sat down and reached for the last tin of soup.

"Yeah, well, we've all got to eat." Alex said, swallowing down his last mouthful. Li took a small spoonful and ate it, trying hard to ignore the bitter taste. It was thick and lumpy, with a vague hint of mushroom.

"I bet Amber and Paulo are enjoying a nice tin of tomato soup right now." Alex said, lying back while the others finished.

"They've probably found something to warm it up with, too." Li said.

"Do you reckon they've reached it yet?" Hex said a few minutes later, picking up Alex's tin and carrying them over to the rubbish bag. He listened over his shoulder as Alex replied,

"I don't know, but they should be on their way back. Whether they've found it or not. They left two hours ago, and it'll be dark in just over an hour."

"Meanwhile - " Li jumped up, "it's getting chilly. Who wants a game of good ol' Stuck in the Mud to warm up?" The two boys didn't match her enthusiasm. Hex grunted, bored, and sat back down again, while Alex shrugged. Li sighed, and then had an idea. She leant down and grabbed Hex's palmtop from his grasp, and set off at high speed.

"Hey!" Hex scrambled to his feet and sprinted after her, while Alex watched, amused. Ah well, if they were mucking about, he might as well join in.

* * *

The scene looked like something from the 17th century, when the slaves had been taken from Africa and forced to work over in England. It looked like these people hadn't seen real civilization for years. He watched from behind the bush, halfway up the hill, with Amber. The highest parts of the walls were nearly at chest height, while other parts had only had the foundations laid. Li was right - it definitely _was_ a building site. But there were a couple hundred builders at least, most of them not even proper adults.

This couldn't be right.

They watched the endless cycle of workers, some as young as ten, as they went back and forth, making bricks, carrying them single-handedly, passing them to more experienced, older guys for laying down. Some people were working hand-automated cement mixers, using younger kids to twist the lever.

Paulo watched as one boy came near to him and Amber. He was about their own age, maybe slightly younger, and he looked exhausted. But he looked like he'd been tired for ages, never taking a break, not knowing what relaxed was. How long had this been going on for?

Suddenly a sound rang out all over the site, like a siren. Paulo shared a look with Amber. What was it? It was like a huge gong being hit repeatedly. As they watched, the site stilled as everyone stopped what they were doing. An alarm?

No, it wasn't that. Nobody was rushing, panicking. They were all acting as if they were expecting it, or it was nothing new. A dinner gong. Paulo grinned. Despite the situation, it reminded him of the bell his father rang at home on the ranch to call him in for dinner when he was out on the fields. It was the only way Paulo could hear him, and it irritated his sisters so much.

The builders started making their way over to a place on Paulo and Ambers' left. They saw a small table with a skinny woman behind it, with a massive bowl of something. Gruel. The workers formed an untidy line, and Paulo watched as the first people picked up something from the table - it looked like a serviette or handkerchief - and the woman dolloped some gruel onto it. It was like Oliver Twist.

All the builders walked with their heads bowed, shoulders hunched from the backache of carrying heavy loads around. What was next? Was their day over, or was this just a break? Paulo looked at his watch; only one and a half hours until dark. He touched Amber's arm.

"We'd better be getting back. We're late as it is." Amber hesitated. Paulo could see that she wanted to do something to stop what was going on, but what could they do without the others? Eventually she nodded, and the two of them silently made their way slowly back up the side of the hill.

* * *

The three teenagers flopped down on the grass, laughing. Hex had finally managed to retrieve his palmtop and managed to get it back to safety. It was getting dark and Amber and Paulo still hadn't returned. Alex had a nagging worry at the back of his mind, but he kept telling himself that it was OK; they were on their way back.

"Anyone got the time? Hex, you still got that cool watch of yours?" Li asked, propping herself on one elbow. Hex looked.

"Ten o'clock, just gone."

Alex sighed. "We told them to be back by ten at the latest, didn't we?"

"Chill. They're probably just running late. If they don't get back in the next half an hour, then you can panic." Li said, lying back to study the sky. The first of many stars were dotted around the deep blue, but the moon was nowhere in sight. "Isn't it beautiful?" She said. Alex murmured his agreement and settled back to join her.

"It reminds me of when I go camping with my dad. We usually stay up late, just to watch the stars. And talk."

"Once I went out with my dad, when my parents were working in a zoo in Japan. We sat on top of this enormous hill that overlooked the wildlife area and the sea, and we just watched the giraffes and elephants and stuff. We didn't even need to talk, it was so peaceful." Li said, not taking her eyes off the sky.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." They lay in silence for a while, lost in their own memories. Li looked over at Hex, who was sat with his arms around his knees, also looking at the sky. His face had no expression, just blank.

"What about you, Hex?" She asked. Hex paused for a moment, then shrugged.

"Nothing much. Eats, sleeps, drinks." Li smiled and was about to reply, when they were interrupted by a loud shout from nearby. They looked up to see Amber and Paulo jogging towards them. Amber slowed as she got nearer.

"No food? Geez, I was at least expecting a drink prepared or something from you guys. We've been hiking for hours." She sat down and pulled her insulin kit from the pouch on her belt.

"It doesn't take long. Just unscrew the lid - " Hex passed Amber a bottle of water, who snatched it from him and made to swipe him around the head. He ducked and grinned while Amber took a long swig and passed it to Paulo.

"You're late. It's half past. What took you so long?" Alex asked, but he wasn't annoyed. Just relieved that they were OK.

"Did you find anything?" Li asked, sitting up. She listened along with Alex and Hex as Paulo and Amber related what they'd seen in the clearing between the mountains. Her eyes grew wide as they told about the labour work that seemed to be going on, and a hand went to her mouth when they said how young some of the workers had been.

"Oh my God," she said, "Is that legal?"

"Exactly what we thought. So we went down to take a closer look - "

"You should have waited for us," Alex began, "You could have been seen. And then we wouldn't have known where you were."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what Paulo said." Amber saw the reluctance to accept in Alex's eyes, and immediately stopped the attitude. "I'm sorry, Alex. I know we shouldn't have. But we were really careful."

"Carry on. What else did you see?" Li said eagerly. Paulo told them about the alarm, and the food. "So what? Do you think we should do something?"

Alex hesitated. "I don't think we should get too involved so soon, it might be a government plan or something. But maybe we should investigate a bit further, just to make sure - "

"Yay!" Li jumped up, "A mission!"

"Alex, I'm pretty sure it wasn't a government plan. What kind of country would let kids as young as fifteen do labour, getting only gruel for food?" Alex nodded.

"Maybe it was one of those camp things, you know, like for kids who are too young to go to prison."

"It's a possibility. Well, like I said, we'll check it out. Hex, look at that GPS, and see if there's anything helpful nearby."

"GPS?" Amber asked, raising her eyebrows. Hex grinned as he opened the program.

"It got sent to us." Hex found their location and glanced around the screen. "There's a small village nearby, apparently. Maybe we should go there first to top up on water."

"Good idea," Alex said, "And we can also ask around about the site you saw. Everyone OK?" Four heads nodded back at him and he smiled. "But for now, we should get some sleep." He stood up and checked his knife was still in his pocket. He nodded his approval. The others followed slowly. Their limbs were exhausted, and the prospect of sleep seemed incredibly welcoming.

"See you guys tomorrow." Amber called as she and Li crawled into their tent. "Then let's go bust some gut."

* * *

**Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading, and please review! It would be appreciated muchly. Hopefully another chapter will be up soon. And don't forget Pass on the Story! Honestly people, we don't update that enough! I'd do it myself, but I did not long ago, and so did Blackfishy, but please please please please _PLEASE _have a go! It doesn't take long, just five minutes! I think. Well, that's how long it takes me... anyway, once again, thanks for reading! Oh yeah, and I'd also like to promote the Alpha Force Roleplay in the forums section. I'm still not too sure on what it is myself, but it looks fun. go ahead and have a look!**

**Spinky :D**


	5. Abseil

**Chapter Five**

**Abseil**

* * *

The next morning dawned bright and early, and Li woke up feeling hopeful. She looked over at Amber, who was still fast asleep, and then at her watch. Already she could feel the sun scorching through the thin tent canvas - how late was it?

"'S' only eight o'clock," she murmured to herself. It was late, but still very bright for that time in the morning. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. This was a late morning compared to how early Alpha Force usually got up. She gently shook Amber's shoulder. "Hey, Amber, wake up. Time to get up." Amber moaned and rolled over, pulling her pillow over her head. Li lost her patience.

"Get up, you lazy lout." She grabbed Amber's sleeping bag and pulled. Amber squeaked loudly as it was pulled away from her and sat up, rubbing her face.

"Jeez, Li, what is with you? What's wrong with normal, civilized waking up?"

Li grinned. "I tried that," she said, "But you ignored me."

Amber sighed heavily and searched around her bed for her mirror. She wasn't a morning person, Li could tell, and was itching to get some make-up on. Li meanwhile flicked her hair over her shoulder and threw on some clothes.

"I'm going to wake up the boys," She said, a mischievous glint in her eye, "You want to help?"

"Oh, yes please." Amber muttered. She followed Li quietly out of the tent, but ran into Li's back when she stopped suddenly. "What is it?"

"Spoilsports," Li called back, "They're already up." Amber came out into the sunshine to find Alex, Paulo and Hex sat outside, waiting for the girls to hurry up. Paulo turned to them, grinning.

"We were about to come in and wake you up. Shame. We were too late."

"You wouldn't have dared," Li shot back, and sat down with the three boys. Amber stood by the tent with her arms folded.

"Well, if there's nothing going on, then I'm going to go back and finish getting ready." She crawled back into the tent and forcefully pulled the zip down. Hex smirked behind her back.

"She's still got three more layers of mascara to apply," He said, "It's OK. We can have a nap while we wait."

"I heard that!" Amber's voice came from the tent.

* * *

"We all ready then?" Alex stood up and shouldered his bag. The two tents had been packed away, and Hex was carrying one while Paulo carried the other.

"Think so," Li replied, picking up an empty can from the floor and putting it in her bag, "I'll find a bin for all this rubbish in the village."

"Which way, Hex?"

Hex pointed to his left and they all set off in that direction. Hex and Amber brought up the rear, carrying Hex's palmtop with the GPS open and the map. "Yeah, just keep going in this general direction until we find something. I'll let you know if we start going off-course."

As they walked on, the landscape became less smooth and they were faced with more frequent climbs and abseils. Alex and Li were both carrying a harness each, of which they'd only had to use once since they started. But now they were beginning to use them more often as the area grew more steep and rocky. As they reached the top of their third ridge that morning, they realised there was a sheer drop between them and the next hill.

"Surely," Paulo said, "The ground would get easier if we were getting closer to civilization? Not more steep?"

Alex shrugged. "Still going in the right direction, Hex?"

Hex briefly checked his palmtop. "Yep, definitely. But we are going in a straight line, you know, so there's bound to be obstacles. We've gone about halfway, by the way."

"When're we going to stop for lunch? I'm starving." Li called to the others as she pulled the safety harness out of her bag. She knelt down by the cliff edge to set it up and peered over. It was a steep 300 foot drop, so she had to be extremely careful that she set it up right. At the bottom was just more rock.

"It's half eleven now. See what time it is when we get down."

"OK Alex, throw me that harness." Li caught it and started setting it up. Alex watched her with growing nervousness. It wasn't something he cared to admit, but he didn't have a great head for heights. He didn't mind mountain climbing; because there was always a smooth transition between him and the ground, but this... there was nothing in between. 300 foot. If they fell that far...

"Right," Li said, standing up and tying the harness around her waist, "I'll go first. I'll give you a shout when I'm at the bottom. You guys follow in whatever order you please." Li gave the group a small wave and smiled before kicking off the edge and disappearing from sight. Alex gulped. The way Li did things like that never ceased to amaze him. He watched as Paulo crouched at the top, making sure that Li was OK, but whether it was thirty seconds later or thirty minutes later, she finished. Paulo hauled the rope back in.

"Right, who's next?"

"I'll go," Amber stepped forwards, "Best get it over and done with."

"You take that one, I'll take this. Same time. You two OK to follow afterwards?" Paulo aimed the last question at Hex and Alex. Alex let Hex nod for both of them. He'd only been abseiling a few times before - occasionally with his dad, and that time at the sporting event, but they'd been tiny drops compared to this. He felt he could almost jump those ones... compared to this...

"Right, you ready?" Alex snapped out of his trance. Hex was hauling in the two ropes, regarding Alex with a strange look on his face, "You OK?"

"What? Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." He stepped forwards and took one of the harnesses from Hex. He glanced quickly over the drop and immediately his head started spinning. He gripped Hex's arm and tried to tear his gaze away from the three tiny figures at the bottom, so far away -

"Alex, mate, are you all right?" Hex gently took Alex's hand from his shoulder and steadied him with the other. "You don't look so good."

"I'm fine," Alex whispered.

"You just don't particularly like heights?" Alex nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He forced himself to move back from the edge, and focussed his attention on Hex instead. Not having the big drop in his face, he suddenly found it easier to breath. Hex was standing up, tying his harness around his own waist.

"I'll be fine," Alex muttered, "Just need to - pull myself together." Hex nodded. He knew how Alex felt. Although he wasn't afraid of heights, he suffered from claustrophobia, and went through the same thing when faced with a small tunnel or tiny space. Alex meanwhile took several deep breaths, and then reached forwards for the other harness. He tried hard not to look over the edge. He put it on from where he was, while Hex waited patiently for him. "OK, I'm ready."

Ignoring the growing feelings of nausea in his stomach, Alex slowly inched forwards to the edge and turned around so his back was facing the drop. A small voice echoed around the hills up to them from below.

"Hurry up, guys!" It was Amber's voice. Alex bit his lip.

"OK?" Hex asked. Alex nodded and pushed himself backwards. His foot reached the open air and he hurriedly brought it back to safe land again. An image flashed into his head again of the sheer drop below, and he wished he hadn't looked. "It's fine," Hex called. Alex could hear that Hex hadn't started descending yet - he was waiting for Alex to get going.

Hex studied Alex closely. He was pale and sweating, and Hex didn't have a clue what to do. What could he say? That there's not really a big drop, it's just an illusion? He could see Alex was feeling pressured, but he was trying again, slowly. He suddenly had an idea. Alex wouldn't like it at first, but he knew it would help get it over and done with. He moved backwards from the edge and waited until Alex was right at the edge, about to go over.

As he thought, Alex stopped. He sent a panicked glance over to Hex, once again feeling the unpleasant sensation of nothing beneath his feet. Hex quickly checked that the rope was secure, went up to Alex and grinned.

"You'll thank me for this afterwards," He said, and gave his shoulders a hard push. Alex's shocked expression disappeared over the edge, and Hex looked over to see him abseiling down at top speed, even faster than Li. He smiled, swung himself over the edge and began to descend himself.

* * *

"What the hell took you so long?" Amber said as Alex reached the bottom. He turned to her, breathing hard and hastily dismantled himself from the harness. It was so good to have solid ground under his feet again.

"Hex," He breathed, "I'll kill him." Hex was about halfway down the cliff face. Alex didn't know how long it had taken him to reach the bottom, but he'd hated every moment, clinging on to the rope for dear life and not knowing when it would end.

"Congratulations," Paulo grinned, "That was possibly the fastest descent I've ever seen. Were you two racing?" Hex reached the bottom and turned around.

"Yup," he said, "I won. Obviously." Paulo took the two ropes and tried to unhitch them from the top. Li saw and went over to help, while Amber sat down to inject herself. Alex sent Hex a death glare, but secretly he was grateful to him for pushing him down and covering it up. The others didn't seem to have noticed, and it was over now. Hex grinned back.

"I told you you'd thank me."

"Never - don't you _ever _do that again."

"Right, here we go. We should swap loads for a bit. I'll carry a harness, Hex, you can too, and Li and Alex grab the tents. Are we still hungry?" Paulo said. He shoved a harness in his bag and slung it over his shoulder.

"No," Alex replied immediately, "Let's go another mile or so." He felt he needed to do some walking on hard ground before he was prepared to sit down and have time to think about it again.

"OK then." Paulo set off at a quick pace, and the others followed. Alex hung back for a second while Hex got his palmtop out of his pouch and opened the GPS.

"Cheers, Hex. I mean it." Alex would have carried on, but he saw the smug look on Hex's face and thumped him on the shoulder. "But I would have gone down anyway."

"Course you would," Hex laughed, checking their position on the screen.

"No, really, thanks for not telling the others, too."

"'S' all right." Hex muttered. Amber stopped and waited for the two boys to catch up, studying the map. It was creased and folded from the amount of times she'd taken it out to look at it.

"Hex, we're going the right way, aren't we?"

"Yeah," Hex replied, looking up, "Why?"

Amber shrugged. "Just checking. This thing's useless now, I guess, right?" Amber asked, indicating the map and waving it around in the air.

"Pretty much." Hex shrugged.

"How about lunch now?" Alex stopped and let his bag fall off his shoulder. The others murmured their agreement and followed suite. It was best to stop as close to midday as possible, because that was the hottest time of day. Alex knew that if they carried on moving in this heat then they'd use up all the water far too quickly.

"We've got one meal left. Five cans of - oh, yummy. Mushroom soup." Amber grimaced, reading the label. "I was hoping we wouldn't have to use this stuff."

"Well, aren't you lucky?" Hex shot back, "Yesterday, you and Paulo took the two last cans of tomato, so we've already had some mushroom."

"Who bought the mushroom stuff anyway? No-one likes it." Li sat down and tried opening her tin with her hands. Seeing her struggle, Alex passed her his knife to open it with. Li stared at the liquid inside, dreading the unpleasant sensation in her mouth again.

"Er - " Paulo had a shifty look on his face, " - that was me, I think. I misread the label."

"Ass." Amber muttered, taking a spoonful of soup. Hex watched her with an amused expression as her face twisted into a disgusted grimace.

They all ate in silence, trying hard not to notice the taste. It was boiling, and they were all sweating buckets. They were sheltered a bit from the shade of the mountains, but it was still incredibly hot. Alex looked up. In the distance, he could just see the peak of the cliff he'd been stood on top of about an hour ago. He still couldn't quite believe it.

"You guys finished yet?" He asked. The others all nodded, depositing their tins, "We'd better go. Hex, how far have we got?" Hex consulted his palmtop and looked up, shadowing his eyes from the sun.

"About an hour's walk, I think. Roughly five or six miles."

"Just think," Amber said, a blissful expression on her face as they all stood up and got ready to go, "In one hour, we'll be in a nice village, with _people_, and food, and we'll be just about to start a lovely mission. It couldn't get any better."

* * *

**OK, so here was chapter five! Hopefully the next one will be up soon. Thanks to Elledreamer, my beta! And a few things to remind you about: Review (obviously... **_**please**_**), CC (Constructive Critisism), and Pass on the Story, which is in the Forums section. Anyway, thanks for reading!**


	6. Civilization

**Chapter Six**

**Civilization**

* * *

"Ah, bummer," Amber muttered, turning the bottle of sun protection lotion upside down and shaking it hard. She turned to Paulo, sitting next to her, "There's hardly any of this stuff left."

"How much?" He replied, concerned. If they all stayed out in this heat with no protection, they'd all catch skin cancer.

"Mmm..." Amber tried to peer inside the bottle, but the opening was too small. Instead, she weighed it in her hands, "Not much. Not enough for all of us, unless we only have a tiny bit each." She turned the bottle upside down again and managed to squeeze a tiny splatter on her hands. She was about to rub it off, but Paulo took her wrist to stop her. He glanced over to the others, who were chatting a few metres away.

He lowered his voice: "Save it for Hex and Alex." Amber stared at him for a moment, then nodded as she realised what he meant. Having darker skin, the others were protected more from bright light. She rubbed the cream on her hand in a thin layer over the most exposed part of her face, not wanting to waste it.

"Hey, Alex! Hex! Come over here." Amber yelled, beckoning wildly. The two boys turned around and walked slowly over to Amber and Paulo. As they approached, Amber thrust the bottle in front of them. "Sunscreen." She ordered. Alex shrugged, took the bottle and squirted some onto his hand while Amber bounded away to talk to Li. Paulo stood up and made sure that they had everything.

"There's not enough in here for everyone." Alex said, shaking the bottle. Paulo bit his lip. He'd been hoping this wouldn't come up. Alex looked at him and realised what he was getting at. "Oh," He said, "OK."

Once they were finished, Alex dumped the empty bottle in his bag and turned to the others.

"OK, let's go. You ready?" Paulo stood up. They nodded. Paulo held out a hand for Li and she took it, using it to help herself up. They joined the others and checked that they hadn't left anything behind.

"This way?" Alex asked. Hex nodded, and they set off in the direction of the village. They travelled in the same formation, with Alex at the front and Hex at the back to shout directions. Amber also stayed at the back, being the best at navigation. Finally the hottest part of the day was over, and they could all begin to feel the change in temperature as the sun sank lower in the sky. They were still sweating continuously but the knowledge that their destination was so close drove them on.

* * *

"I see it!" Li shouted, and dashed up ahead of the others. They groaned and quickened the pace to catch up, scanning the scene below them. She reached the top of the rise first, and stopped to gaze down at the village below.

It was tiny. The others caught up and stood next to her in a line, too exhausted to move any further now their destination was in sight. It wasn't what they'd expected, but it was better than nothing. There were about two dozen buildings in all, made of brick and wood, and occasionally tin, and there were no proper roads, just dusty clearings.

"This is it?" Amber tried to hide the contempt from her voice, and succeeded as far as Paulo.

"Yes," He said, looking puzzled, "Why? What's wrong with it?"

Amber scowled. "It's tiny. There's nothing in it."

"Come on, it's better than nothing." Alex tried to reason.

"What were you expecting?" Hex smirked, "A nice, five-star hotel with a glass of ice-cold water, all ready for you?"

"Why not?" Amber retorted, and started walking down the hill towards the village. The others followed more slowly, treading heavily and anticipating lying down on a proper bed.

"Whose idea was this hike anyway? We're completely out of food. If we'd have got properly lost, then we would be dead for sure." Paulo grunted, "Alex?" He turned around to face his friend. Alex stopped and held out his hands.

"What? It's all about survival, and - "

"You have a thing for getting us into trouble, don't you?" Li's eyes sparkled, and they all remembered the time back in Belize when they'd wasted a whole day removing a tree that Alex had misjudged.

"Yeah," Hex joined in, "And what were those four things you said were absolutely essential? Wasn't one of them... _food_?"

Alex laughed. "All right, but at least we're here now, right? And, hopefully, some kind soul here might offer us a drink or something."

"Hey Amber, slow down!" Hex called after the American girl, who was hurrying ahead of the others. She stopped and turned around, a wide grin on her face.

"C'mon, slowpokes! Nice, cold water is only a few metres away! And possibly a bed..." She turned around again and skipped down the remainder of the hill. There weren't many people around, just a few loners wandering the streets or hurrying to another building. And none of them looked very happy either.

"Amber, wait a second. We should stick together." Alex called. Amber stopped again and waited for the others to catch up.

"Sorry." She smiled.

"Right," Alex said, once they'd all gathered. They were stood right next to one of the wooden houses, where there were some clothes hanging up on a line connected to the back. "Let's choose a friendly-looking person, and ask them if there's anywhere we can stay."

"How about her?" Li pointed to a thin woman in her fifties walking slowly down the street, carrying a small bag, "She looks friendly."

Paulo looked around at the five of them. "She might get a bit intimidated if we all go over at once." He remarked. Alex nodded his agreement.

"One girl and one guy should go over. That way we'll look more friendly."

"I'll go," Amber offered, "Who's coming with me?" Paulo volunteered, and they both set off towards the woman. Hex, Alex and Li turned around and pretended to have an animated conversation, to try and put the woman at ease.

"Hi there," Amber put on her best smile as she approached the woman. At first, the lady looked startled to see people talking to her. As she got closer, Amber could see the bags under the woman's eyes from years of hard work and not enough enjoyment. "I'm Amber."

The woman didn't reply. She stopped and stared at the two teenagers, so suddenly taking an interest in her. She had probably been really beautiful in her day, Amber thought, but had been worn down by stress.

"I'm Paulo." Paulo offered, showing her his most winning smile.

"What do you want?" The woman asked, slowly and cautiously. It looked as though she was scared of them, like she'd had some previous experience with people of their kind. She was wearing a simple t-shirt and jeans that were a couple sizes too big for her, but might have fitted her once.

"Listen, me and my friends - " Amber turned around to indicate Alex, Li and Hex, " - have been travelling for ages. You don't have anywhere we could kip for a bit, do you?"

"This isn't anything about offering more jobs, is it? Because the answer's no." The woman turned around and made to leave. Amber turned to Paulo and raised her eyebrows. What did she mean?

"I don't understand," She called, "What jobs?"

The woman turned around again. "You're really just five kids who want a place to sleep for a bit?"

Amber was confused. "Er... yeah. Why?" The woman nervously looked around her, as if checking that the five teenagers actually were alone. Her eyes were wide and her whites were startlingly pale against her dark skin.

"OK, I'll show you into my house. I've a spare bedroom since my boys left. Who are your friends?"

"Oh my god, are you sure?" Amber asked. She hadn't expected it to be that easy. When the woman nodded, she waved at the others to come over. She quickly introduced them, and the woman showed them to her house. It was only a few metres down the road, and it was made of wood. It was old wood, and looked like it could fall down at any moment. But it provided shelter for them, and took the sun off their backs.

Inside, the house was tiny. There were two rooms plus a bathroom, and it turned out that the woman slept on the sofa, and had done ever since she moved into the house. The main room was a simple design, with not much decoration except for a curling picture on the wall.

"Ah, shade..." Li breathed out a sigh of relief and flopped down on one of the sofas, "Feels so good..."

"Li," Paulo hissed, standing behind her and seeing the shocked look on the woman's face, "Get up." Li quickly jumped up and apologised.

"Sorry," She murmured, "Your sofa just looked really inviting."

To their surprise, the woman smiled. "That's OK. My sons do it all the time."

"You have kids?" Amber looked around, as if she expected someone to jump out from behind a door and shout 'Boo!', but no-one did.

"Er... yes. I have two. They're not here at the moment. They're... er... away."

"How old are they?" Alex asked.

"Seventeen and fifteen. What time is it... five o'clock. You'll be wanting some food, right?" The woman said, and hurried into the corner of the room where there was a small stove and a few cupboards. Amber shared an uneasy glance with the others.

"Are you sure that's OK? We can look somewhere else if you want - "

"No, no, it's fine. I have a lot of spare anyway. You guys just make yourselves comfortable. You all look pretty exhausted - I'll make you something nice."

They sat down gratefully on the sofa and the floor. It was damp, but cool. It had probably rained recently around these areas. Amber looked around the room from the sofa. It was about half the size of her bedroom, open plan with a low ceiling. There was a sofa and an armchair, occupied by herself, Li and Paulo, and a small table in one corner with three old wooden chairs. In the other corner was the tiny kitchen unit where the woman was cooking their meal.

A tasty smell drifted over to them as the woman brought over their meals. Amber breathed in delightfully, relieved to be eating something other than soup, and politely took her plate when it was offered to her. It looked and smelt delicious, and it was warm and steaming.

"Mm, it looks lovely. Thanks."

They ate in silence for a while, enjoying every moment of the proper meal, as the energy flowed through their system and to their exhausted muscles. The woman leaned on the wall, waiting for them to finish. While they were eating, Amber's attention drifted over to the curling picture on the wall. She could make out a man's face, smiling and happy, but the rest of the picture had been damaged. She wondered who it was. A father? Husband? One of her sons?

"Hey," She said through a mouthful of food, "You never told us your name."

"My name?" The woman smiled, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Debbie."

* * *

**So there was chapter six! Please review and let me know what you think... and I had a couple of reviews asking when the action was going to start! It will be here soon, I promise! I just wanted to take this fic a bit slower, kinda like Chris Ryan does, but thanks to all my reviewers so far! These are princess eli, ChristinaAngel, Seeker Kze, kat priestley and emmalea21... and a special thanks to Elledreamer, my beta!**

**Please don't forget Pass on the Story!**

**Spinky :D**


	7. Debbie

**Chapter Seven**

**Debbie**

* * *

Li woke from a restless sleep on the armchair in Debbie's main room. The night had been sweltering, and once she'd woken early in the morning, there was no going back to sleep. She glanced around the quiet room. The small clock ticking away on the wall showed it was just gone seven in the morning. Amber was asleep on the thinning rug, her dark hair spread around her head. Debbie was snoring softly on the sofa.

What could she do? She wasn't in the mood to go back to sleep or just lie in bed. She wanted to get up, explore the small village. What did Debbie do for a living? She had to do something to earn her keep. Earlier, Li had noticed a pile of cloth and thread under the coffee table. Maybe she repaired clothes and things like that. She wondered about the boys. Were they awake yet? She got up slowly and padded over to the door leading to the other room. She knocked softly, not wanting to disturb Amber or Debbie.

From the other side of the door, she heard shuffling about. Then she heard a familiar voice -

"Yeah?" It was Alex. Good, at least someone else was awake.

"It's me, Li." She hissed. Alex opened the door and peeked out. He opened it a little wider, and Li saw that he was fully dressed. He had probably been up for a long time, too. "I'm bored. Do you want to go outside or something? Give the village a bit of an explore?"

"What, now?"

"No, you dumbass, after breakfast. That's why I woke you so early." Alex grinned. He followed her quietly through the main room and, after scribbling a note and dropping it on the coffee table, they went outside into the fresh air. It was still getting light, so the sun was low in the east and their shadows were long. A cool breeze lifted around them.

"You're a bit of an early riser too, then?" Alex murmured. Li agreed. The village consisted of mainly one short road, framed with shops and houses. There were only the most basic of shops; one for food, a hairdressers and a garage. The houses all probably held their own businesses too, to bring in money. "Bit of a quiet place."

"I know. Bit depressing." They walked down to the end of the street, looking left and right to take in the place. The ground was hard under their feet, rock and sand. Li was still barefoot, preferring to walk without her shoes to give her feet some air. They reached the garage and spotted a man lounging out front, reading a newspaper. Li looked at Alex, who shrugged. "Might as well get acquainted." Li suggested. She walked up to the man and put on a friendly face. He looked up as she approached.

"Hiya," She smiled, "Me and my friends are staying here for a while. We just thought we might get to know the neighbourhood a bit."

The man considered the two teenagers for a moment, and then held out his hand. "I'm Ryan. Blimey, I ain't seen a kid round these parts for a couple years now. What brings you two here?"

"Actually, we're not alone. We've got three more friends with us - we're staying with Debbie. Do you know her?"

"Sure I do. Her kids used to work for me. Before they - er - left."

"Left? Where?" Li asked, surprised.

"Not sure I should say. Debbie'll tell you, mind. What brings you here, then?"

"We were just hiking around the mountains, and got a bit lost. Ended up here." Alex provided. Ryan looked like a friendly man. He had a cheerful face and the kind of skin that suggested he'd lost a lot of weight in a short amount of time, and he had thinning brown hair.

"I was gonna say, you sure don't sound local. Where you from?"

"England." Alex replied. Despite the relaxed atmosphere, thoughts kept running around his head. What did Ryan mean, Debbie's kids had left? And why hadn't he seen any kids around the area for a long time? His mind flickered back to the scene Paulo and Amber had witnessed, full of workers, young workers, kids, and he wondered what on earth they were on to.

* * *

Paulo woke up to the sun streaming in through the window and the cracks in the wood. What time was it? He fumbled around the floor for his watch, and saw it was nearly eight o'clock. Glancing at the two beds, he saw that one was empty. In the other, Hex was still fast asleep, but where was Alex?

He decided that Alex must already be up, so he changed and ambled into the main room. Amber was sitting in the armchair, wearing one of Hex's jumpers, and reading a book. He smiled at her and went over to the stove, where Debbie was cooking something delicious.

"Where're Li and Alex?" He asked. Amber shrugged.

"I think they went out early. Li left a note - _Gone to explore. Be back later. _I'm assuming she took Alex too, if he's not there."

"That smells lovely. Cooked breakfast?" Paulo aimed the question at Debbie, while he sat down on the sofa opposite Amber. Debbie nodded and came over with two plates of sausages and bacon.

"I don't usually do this sort of thing," She informed them as she gave them each a plate, "I usually just have a piece of fruit for breakfast. But you guys still look pretty exhausted. You do hikes like this often?"

"Well, Alex is a bit weird, he likes things like that." Amber shot in before Paulo could reply.

Paulo tucked into his breakfast, savouring every moment. It was sweltering already, and he could feel sweat starting to trickle down his back. He was grateful that he'd managed to grow somewhat accustomed to the heat from working out on his ranch back at home, but it was still a little too hot for comfort.

"Hey," Amber suddenly remembered, chewing thoughtfully, "Didn't you say you had a couple kids? Where are they?" Debbie froze, and Amber wished she hadn't asked. Or maybe it was a good thing, she thought. Debbie turned around and looked at her, a scared expression on her face.

"Ah - they, erm... they had to go away."

"Why?" Amber mentally kicked herself for being so forward, but she was intrigued. Paulo looked up cautiously. Hex chose that moment to emerge from the bedroom, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Mm," He said, as he neared the trio, "Smells good. What?" He said, noticing Amber staring at him strangely. He hadn't noticed the tension in the room before he'd entered.

"Nothing. Go get some breakfast. It's really nice." Amber said, turning back to her own food, "Sorry, Debbie. I won't bring them up again."

"No, it's OK. You probably have a right to know; now I've let slip about them. Wait for the other two to get back, and then I'll tell you."

* * *

Alex and Li got back just as Hex was finishing his last mouthful. They looked awake and refreshed, and a lot better than they all were looking the day before.

"Hey, guys," Li said, bounding up to Paulo, "You did get our message, right?"

"Sure did," Amber replied, grinning sadistically, "But you missed a brilliant cooked breakfast." Li's shoulders fell, but then she shrugged.

"We met a man called Ryan, down the road. Owns the garage." Li said, flopping down on the armchair. Debbie was outside, hanging some clothes up to dry, so she felt free to talk. "He said - " She glanced outside to see that Debbie couldn't hear " - he gave us reason to believe something is up here. We may have actually found ourselves a mission."

The three others leaned forward eagerly, "Go on," Paulo urged.

"Apparently, a couple years ago, nearly every teenager and young adult from this village went missing. Including Debbie's two sons." Alex contributed.

"_Really?_" Amber squeaked, "I asked Debbie about her kids while you were gone. She went all sensitive, but she said she'd tell us about them when you two got back." Amber was interrupted as Debbie walked in the door, carrying an empty laundry basket and stamping the dust off her feet.

"You're back then," She said, seeing the five of them all together in the main room. Li smiled and waved. Debbie put down the basket and approached them. "I was going to tell you about my kids. I think it's only fair that you should know, since you're staying in their house, and you look responsible enough. Do you mind if I steal the armchair? My back's not good these days."

"Sure." Li jumped up and sat next to Paulo instead. Debbie sat down. The others waited in anticipation while she wrung her hands, wondering how to begin.

"Right. I had - _have - _two sons. Michael and David. Michael was fourteen, David was thirteen. That was two years ago. Just before... just before they went missing." Debbie's voice cracked, and she hesitated a moment to compose herself.

"Go on," Amber said gently, encouraging Debbie to tell them more.

Debbie took a deep breath. "We were doing OK, financially-wise. It wasn't the best, but it was OK. We got by." Debbie paused and smiled to herself, as if recalling a memory. "Michael and David worked at the garage down the road. With Ryan. They got most of our money, while I got a local name from sewing and repairing clothes. That earned us a bit, too. Then they were offered a job. By a woman who called herself Erica.

"It wasn't ideal, but the pay was better. Our money was slowly declining, and we needed the pay rise. The job itself was twenty kilometres away, so my boys were promised accommodation on site, free of charge. So they decided to go, promising to visit often and write. The very next day, they went."

Debbie looked up. Amber was startled to see tears in the woman's eyes. She coughed lightly and rubbed her eye with her sleeve. "I haven't seen them since. Haven't heard from them, haven't received their pay. Nothing. I don't even know if they're - if they're still _alive, _for goodness' sake."

"Oh my god," Li murmured.

"I'm sorry about this. Shameful. _Crying, _in front of you. I'm sorry."

"No, it's OK. We want to help." Amber said, laying a hand on Debbie's arm. Debbie stared at her.

"Help? What can you do?"

"We can do our best." Debbie looked at the other four, expecting them to be staring at Amber with the same looks of incredulousness on their faces, but she was shocked. They were looking at Debbie with the same determination, the same eagerness to help.

"What was the job?" Paulo asked, suddenly remembering the building site, and the kids milling around.

"I can't remember exactly. The woman said that someone important was coming, and they needed to build him a house, quickly. Mind you, though, if it's still going on, then it's taking them a bloody long time."

"Building site," Paulo mumbled, and the others immediately caught on.

"Debbie," Amber said confidently, "We think we know where they might be."

* * *

**Thanks for reading! And thank you to my much-appreciated reviewers, and my amazing beta Elledreamer, and just a few reminders:**

_**Pass on the Story - **_**Do this! Whoever you are, whatever the time, do it do it do it do it do it! Now! Thanks :P**

_**Role Play - **_**I'm not entirely sure on what this is myself, but it looks fun! Have a look at both of these in the forums section. **

**Anyway, thanks for reading once again, and pleeeeease review! And CC is always helpful too! Spinky :D**


	8. Planning

**Chapter Eight**

**Planning**

* * *

"So what?" Amber said, leaning forwards on her elbows, "You're saying this has been happening for the last two years, and nothing's been done about it?"

Hex shrugged. "I said you wouldn't like it. But that's what it looks like, isn't it?" Alex murmured his agreement. They were stretched out in front of Debbie's house, enjoying the sun and discussing their discovery.

"Hex is right, Amber. What else could be going on?" Paulo said. He didn't want to believe it, but it was the most likely explanation.

"OK, let me get this right," Li said, "So you're expecting us to believe that some weirdo was on his way over here, in, say, three years, and he was too lazy to book a place in a hotel, so instead he arranged for a house to be built for him. Only he's really greedy, so he wants it to be big, and he's too stingy to pay for proper builders so he's arranged for some people to fetch random members of the public who're short of money to build it for him. He goes round telling them that they'll be paid, but doesn't pay them anyway?"

Hex stared at her for a moment, then shrugged and nodded.

"Well, that's the biggest load of crap I've ever had to deal with. I'm not - " She interrupted as Hex started to protest, " - I'm not saying it isn't true. It's just weird."

"Why young people?" Alex said, working the idea round his head.

"Because they're less likely to stand up against it, or protest." Hex answered. He'd already worked that one out. Amber turned around onto his back and stared at the sky. It was mid-afternoon, a lot cooler than it had been earlier in the day. How could someone ever be so evil as to do this to innocent families? To think of people working all day every day, not knowing when it would end made her sick.

"We've gotta do something, guys. Any ideas?" There were blank faces all round.

"There's always the option of calling the police. Anyone thought of that?" Li said, picking at some grass and twirling it through her fingers.

"'Course they have. Debbie said. But the police think that they're making it up, to draw attention to themselves. The nearest police are in the city." Amber replied.

"Then it's down to us." Alex decided.

* * *

"There's absolutely nothing on the net about it. I've tried everything." Hex said, looking up from his palmtop. "They probably don't need a site or anything. And we don't have any names."

"Yes we do," Amber said, "What was the name of the woman that came to see Debbie?"

"Erica." Li said.

"Just Erica?" Hex said, "That's useless."

"Erm..." Amber thought aloud, "Try putting 'Erica building site' into Google." She suggested. Hex gave her a strange, patronizing look.

Alex sighed and leaned back. After looking around the village once more with the rest of Alpha Force, they'd retreated back to Debbie's house and were inside the main room. Debbie was in the corner, quietly repairing somebody's trousers. "There's got to be something. We know where the site is. Can't we go back there and figure something out?"

"And do what?" Paulo said, "Lead an ambush? Gather all the villagers and raid the place?"

"Hmm, not sure about that one." Amber replied sarcastically.

"How about..." Hex trailed off, as he thought the idea over in his head, "Nah, that's not the best idea."

"What? Worth a shot." Alex probed.

"I was going to say we could send someone in, as a worker, I mean."

"But so many things could go wrong." Amber sighed. She hated this part of the mission, thinking it all through and planning their ideas. Everything seemed to have so many disadvantages.

"It's good," Alex said, "But it's dangerous. We'd need probably two at least to go in."

"Woah - you're not _actually _going to do that are you? Everytime one of us goes undercover, they seem to get either foiled or kidnapped. _Not _a good idea."

"Isn't that what we're about? Taking risks?" Li challenged. Amber met her hard gaze and her expression softened.

"'Course it is. I just - it's a big risk. If we get uncovered..."

"Then we deal with it then." Paulo finished. They looked up as they heard Debbie stir from the corner. She put down the trousers and walked over to them, a strange look on her face.

"Are you guys serious? I was listening to what you were saying, and honestly - I appreciate your concern, but I don't want you doing anything like this. This village has lost enough people as it is."

"Debbie, we're sure. I promise you, we want to help. It's what we do." Amber said.

"This thing doesn't even affect you."

"We saw it." Paulo said. Debbie stared at him. "On our way here, we passed the building site. We're pretty sure that's where it is. Your sons could be there. And we'll bring them back for you."

"You saw it?" Debbie sat down on the arm of the sofa, "Oh my God. Why didn't you say? So there actually _is _a building site?"

"Yup. We - "

"Oh my God, oh my God. Did you see my kids? Michael's seventeen now. He was tall, quite broad - dark hair. David's fifteen. Dark hair, slightly shorter, a bit lighter. Did you see them? _Did you - _"

"Debbie, Debbie, stop!" Amber said, holding up her hands, "We saw loads of people, from a distance. Any one of them could have been yours. But they were around the right age."

"Oh God, are you actually going to go in there? Oh my God, this is amazing. I can't believe you didn't say!"

Amber glanced at the others, who nodded back. Debbie seemed to have confirmed their decision. "I think so." She said.

* * *

"Debbie, can you tell us anything else about Erica?" Hex asked, typing away. Debbie seemed to have perked up a lot now that she knew there was a chance her sons could still be only twenty kilometres away. She looked brighter and more refreshed than Alpha Force had seen her in their short stay.

"No more than I've already said. Her name and appearance is all I can tell you. Erica might not actually be her name, though. She said... let me think... _'For the sake of conversation, you can call me Erica._' They were her exact words."

"OK, let's plan this." Li said, flipping her legs over the arm of the sofa.

"Who's going to go in? And how are we going to communicate?" Alex started off the discussion.

"How many do you think should go in? Two or three? I think three might be a bit much. We need people to stay here, too." Paulo said. Planning their missions was always the difficult bit.

"Probably two, and one as back-up." Alex said.

"How about Hex and me, with you as back-up?" Paulo suggested to Alex, who slowly thought it over and nodded his approval. Although they were different in appearance, as long as there was just the two of them, it wouldn't be noticed as strange.

"Hey," Li said, frowning, "Sexism. Why not Amber or me?"

Amber answered for her. "There weren't any girls there when we went, Li. They were all hot, topless guys. Shame, really, you know." Li grinned.

"Erm... yes." Paulo coughed. "So, how's that for starters?"

"Good. Hex and Paulo," Alex scribbled the names down on a piece of paper he was using to take down planning notes, "Me as back-up. That OK, Hex?"

"Mm," Hex mumbled, not looking up from his palmtop, "I think I've found something."

"Cool, what is it?" Amber said, leaning forward to look over his shoulder.

"I'm not completely sure if it's right, but it fits quite well. It's an e-mail from an anonymous person, to someone called - Erica Longdew." Hex glanced over at Debbie. "Here, I'll read it out. _'Erica, I don't really mind. Feed them whatever they need, but nothing too expensive. Give them simple accommodation. As for bedtime, ten o'clock is fine. If they protest, punish them in whatever way you like. Don't ask me questions like that again. Work it out for yourself. TD.'_"

"So? That could be a letter to a babysitter or something." Li said, and Paulo chuckled.

"Wait, I'm not finished. The previous e-mail, the one that Erica sent to - er - _TD_, said, _'The slaves are playing up, refusing to work unless they get a pay, decent food and shorter hours. What do you suggest?' _That sounds kind of suspicious to me."

"TD... we have a name. Can you hack any further than that?" Alex asked. Hex nodded.

"Onto it."

"Right, back to the planning. Somehow, you're going to have to get in there. Normally, you could just sneak in and go along with it, but if there're dormitories, then someone's bound to notice that you're new, and they might raise the alarm. They also might be registered." Alex said.

"So, in that case, you'll have to get caught. Accidentally. You could just walk in, pretending to be two money-less tramps, and then 'accidentally' get caught by one of the authorities." Li suggested.

"Good idea. When - " Alex was interrupted by a knock on the door. He looked up as a girl entered, roughly the same age as them. She had a cheerful face, and long blond hair that fell to her elbows.

"Hi, Deb!" She said, smiling. Debbie looked up and returned the gesture. "I see you've got company."

"Hi, dear. Yes, these are some visitors who got lost in the desert and came here looking for accommodation. I've got your father's trousers right here."

"Thanks!" The girl bounded over and took the trousers from Debbie's lap. "Here you go." She passed Debbie a few coins and made towards the door.

"Oh, Alice, wait a minute," Debbie called. The girl turned around, hand poised on the door handle and eyebrows raised. "Guys, this is Alice. Her brother Greg went missing along with my two kids."

"Really?" Amber asked. She noticed how Alice's face fell slightly. "Oh my gosh. Hey, my friends and I are willing to help. We've heard about what happened, and we're going to do something about it."

"Like what? They've been gone two years."

"Alice, these guys have seen the site. They know where it is." Debbie said. Alice's eyes widened and she released her hand from the door handle. She moved further into the room.

"Can you tell us anything? Do you have any information for us?" Alex said. He was desperate to get the mission sorted.

"Not really. This random woman came and offered Greg a job. She said to call her Erica."

Debbie sighed. "That's the same with us. Well anyway, Hex and Paulo here are going to - "

Paulo coughed loudly. Although he did want to reassure Alice that they were doing all they could, they had to be careful. He fully trusted that she was innocent, but the less people that knew about it, the better. Debbie noticed his look and faltered. "...Are going to - er - discuss what they can do to help. With the others."

"Oh, OK. Cool. I'm so grateful, guys. So you've seen the site? Does that mean Greg, Mike and Dave are still there? And Sam?"

"Possibly." Li said carefully. She didn't want to get the girl's hopes up, in case it didn't work.

"Oh my God, can I tell mum?"

"Ah - maybe it's best if you don't. We'd rather keep it quiet until we're absolutely sure." Paulo wondered if it would have been best if they hadn't told Alice at all. He probably sounded really patronizing right now.

"OK, sure. You guys are amazing. I've gotta go now, dad's waiting for his trousers. Thanks, Deb!" Alice bounded out of the door and from their sight.

"There you go," Debbie said, "You're doing this for a great cause. Are you sure you want to go ahead with this?"

"Definitely." Amber replied.

"So, here's the plan." Alex said, reading off his notes. "Tomorrow, Hex and Paulo will wonder aimlessly right into the camp, asking for a drink or something stupid like that. Then they'll get offered a job there and they'll take it eagerly in search of money. If not, casually mention the fact that, I dunno, you're looking for one and you used to be bodybuilders or something. They need to know you're up for the work. As for communication - any ideas?"

"Mobile phones?" Li said. Alex shook his head.

"Too risky. They'll probably be removed."

"We've got the tracking devices, but we won't be able to talk through them." Hex offered.

"That'll have to do. Maybe it'll be better, because it means you won't be caught talking to us. And take your mobiles, in case they don't actually confiscate them."

"And what about when we actually get there?" Hex asked the question on everyone's mind. Alex looked at him and Paulo, and shrugged.

"Work it out. Get as much information as possible, and then somehow get the information to us. Then we can work out a way to stop it. There'll probably be an office with a computer. If not, then get out of there and we'll think of another plan."

* * *

**A/N: I went back to chapter four and changed the age of the workers... I thought as young as ten was a bit too cruel! So now it's as young as fifteen instead. Also I needed to change it for a bit in my storyline. Anyway, thanks for reading, and please R,R and CC! Spinky :D**

**(PS: Don't forget Pass on the Story!)**

**(PPS: I promise action will be here soon!)**


	9. Arrival

**Chapter Nine**

**Arrival**

* * *

The day was coming to an end, and most of the preparations for the next day had been made. Hex and Paulo were planning to leave the small village early morning and get to the camp by about midday, to give the impression they were hot and tired and had been walking for days. Meanwhile, Alex, Li and Amber would stay behind and follow their progress using the tracking device.

Alex stretched out on the sofa. It was still light outside, but he decided they'd best get an early night to make the most of the next day.

"I'm gonna go to bed." He said to the others. Amber nodded.

"Debbie, Li and I have been waiting to go for ages," She replied, "But you and Paulo wouldn't get out."

"OK, we're off. See you in the morning." Alex swung open the door to the bedroom. Hex was already on one of the beds, lying on his front and typing furiously away on his palmtop.

"Found anything?" Alex said, shutting the door behind him. Hex looked up.

"Come and have a look at this," He said, turning the screen around for Alex to see, "This is the whole chain of e-mails between TD and Erica. Starting from about three years ago. The building site - it's not a house, it's a factory."

"How do you know?" Alex said, sitting on the side of the bed. Hex read out the first of the e-mails.

"The first one's from TD. They didn't even know each other to start with. It says, '_You don't know who I am. To you I am TD. I am contacting you because I need an apprentice, someone to work for me in America. I will pay you well; you will just need to follow the exact instructions I give you. Do you accept? TD.' _That's the first one. And the basic storyline is Erica accepts, TD gives her all the details and she starts building this thing, illegally hiring people and not paying them. I don't know what kind of factory it is, but whatever it is, it's illegal. You can tell by the way they talk about it."

"It did look a bit big for a house." Paulo remarked, moving over to the other bed. He had entered the room while Hex was talking.

"Erica's real name is Hannah Gates. Judging by the rest of her e-mails, she's a pretty normal person. Leads a major double life. She's got e-mails from friends and friend-networking sites, along with the ones from TD. TD, I'm not sure about. He's deleted his inbox, but I'm onto getting into it."

"If he's deleted his inbox, how did you know what Erica – er, Hannah - sent him?" Paulo asked.

"Erica's outbox."

"Oh." Paulo pulled on his pyjamas and crept into the bed, pulling the covers over himself. "Mm, comfy. Much better than the hard floor. Looks like you're on the floor tonight, Alex."

"Fine. I'm used to it, anyway. By the way, Hex, what happens if a slave gets disabled or something?"

"They get killed. I don't know how, but they do."

* * *

The next day dawned bright and early, and Alpha Force were already up and fed by six o'clock. Debbie was still inside, fast asleep, so Alpha Force met outside.

"You can't go in wearing that, Paulo. You look way too rich." Li said, unzipping the front of his fleece.

"What's wrong with it? It's quite cold at the moment."

"Take it off when you get going. It'll warm up in a bit. Don't you have any... um, less-neat jeans? With holes in?"

"No."

"Borrow some of Hex's. All his jeans have holes in." Amber said. Hex ignored the comment, and she smiled to herself. "What? It's true."

"You'll need backpacks or something, with water and spare clothes in. Do tramps usually carry around a spare set of clothes?" Alex said, emptying his rucksack on the floor. He picked up a full water bottle and dropped it in.

"I think so. You might as well, anyway."

"It's kind of lucky we did get lost in the first place, otherwise we wouldn't have found the site." Li said. The five of them packed two bags, containing water, spare clothes and a map and compass. Alex checked they were both wearing their belts with the small devices installed.

"We'd better check them." Hex said. Alex took the main tracking device and looked at the screen. Right away, two green dots started blinking in the middle. "Yup, that's fine."

"Where's your palmtop, Hex?" Amber asked innocently, "You can't go in there with it. You've got the map to find your way."

Hex looked like he was about to protest, but Paulo interrupted, "She's right. They'll think something's up if we're wondering around looking for a job with a thing like that. Come on, I'm giving up my jeans." Hex sighed and passed the small computer to Alex.

"Don't you dare - "

"OK, OK. Whatever. We'll only go through and look at all your files." Amber drawled.

"Besides, Hex, how're you going to send the information to if you've got your palmtop? If you send it to this, we can get it here."

Amber took one last look at Hex and Paulo, ready to go. They were dressed simply enough, with t-shirts and jeans, and their backpacks gave their tired appearance an extra boost.

"You all ready, then?" Li asked. Paulo nodded and looked at Hex.

"Is there anything else we need?" Hex shook his head and shrugged.

"Don't think so. Map, water, compass, spare clothes, tracking device, mobiles, anything else?" Hex searched through his bag as he mentally ticked off each item one by one. He still felt at loss without his palmtop, but he'd get over it. He'd been to places before without it.

"OK then, we'll be off. How much range has the tracking device got?"

"About twenty miles at the furthest zoom, so we'll be fine. That's about thirty-two kilometres." Hex replied, securing his rucksack.

"You take care." Amber and Li gave each of the two boys a hug, and while Hex acted embarrassed, Paulo seemed to enjoy the attention.

"We'll be back soon, my loves, with a red rose - "

Hex coughed loudly. "Paulo, let's go." He gave a quick wave to Alex and the girls and took the big Argentinean's arm, leading him backwards away from the village. Paulo couldn't resist one last shout -

"Keep a weather eye on the horizon!"

* * *

"Is there _anything _to do round here, besides playing childhood games?" Li moaned, practising her karate kicks in Debbie's main room. Debbie wandered inside holding a pile of laundry.

"Careful, Li. You'll knock something over." She put the clothes down on the chair in the corner and went back outside to fetch the rest. Li stopped and flopped down on the armchair.

"I bet Hex and Paulo aren't this bored. Is the tracking thing on? How far have they gone?"

Alex sighed and looked at the small screen again. "They're about a quarter of the way there. Which is pretty good. Five kilometres in half an hour." Alex and Amber were bored too. They hadn't anticipated the long waits in between checking on Hex and Paulo, and now the planning was over, they were at loss for something to do.

Debbie came in the door again. "Alice'll be coming over in a bit to get her clothes. I wasn't finished with them yesterday. Maybe you could do something with her? She gets very lonely now she's the only kid in her family."

"Sure." Amber said. She didn't mind Alice; she looked like a really nice person.

"I've got an idea," Li said, "I spy, with my little eye - "

"_No, _Li!" Amber threw a cushion at her and she ducked, grinning. A flicker of disapproval stayed momentarily on Debbie's face, but then she smiled.

"You guys," She said fondly, "You remind me so much of my boys." She stopped when there were three loud knocks on the door, and a loud, female voice called,

"Deb, it's me!"

Debbie grinned, "Here she is." She said.

* * *

Even though it wasn't even mid-morning yet, Paulo could already feel sweat beginning to form and trickle down his back. The thick sunscreen that Debbie had given them didn't help the heat much, and Hex's trousers were tight around the waist. Looking around, there was no shelter in sight, just the rocks and sand they'd seen on the way here. And mountains.

Paulo stopped abruptly. "Hex, you know what we've forgotten?" Hex turned around.

"What?"

"Ropes, for climbing up those cliff-faces." Paulo couldn't believe they'd been so stupid. They'd remembered clothes, compass, map... and forgotten the only thing that would get them up the cliffs. If they were Li, they'd be able to make it up easily.

"Crap."

"Is it too late to go back?" Paulo wondered aloud.

"Probably. But we'll find another way up... there's bound to be a longer uphill track going around it." Paulo thought about it for a moment, then nodded. It seemed the best idea.

They continued on for a while, checking occasionally on the map and compass that they were vaguely going in the right direction. They didn't need it that often, because they could remember most of the landmarks from the way they had come. Alpha Force had specifically trained themselves in memorising distinct points.

After about an hour, they stopped for a rest. It was now nearly the hottest point in the day, and they topped up with water and sunscreen.

"How far d'you think we've gone?" Hex asked, studying the map. Paulo looked.

"Well, there's that hill we just climbed, is that it? Yes, and that hill there is that one up ahead. So - where the hill lines are all bunched together must be the cliff. We're nearly there. And the site - that was up here somewhere, so I'd say we're about halfway."

"Better get going then," Hex said, standing up and folding the map up. Paulo put his water away and followed.

* * *

"Ssh," Paulo stopped suddenly, a couple hours later, and gripped Hex's arm. Hex stopped and listened too. Then he heard it - a few voices, not far away, but getting closer. "How close are we?"

"We're nearly there. About two miles to go." Hex mentally converted the kilometres to miles while he read them out. It was nearly one o'clock, and they were behind already. The only other route they'd found around the cliff had added an extra four kilometres to their journey, and they were exhausted.

Paulo spotted a large rock nearby and ducked behind it, dragging Hex with him.

"They could be just backpackers," Hex suggested, "Like us." He added with a wry smile. Paulo shook his head.

"Better not take any risks. Listen to what they're saying."

In a couple minutes, the owners of the voices came into view. One was a tall, broad man, and another was a slim woman. Between them was a man in his early twenties, his head hanging down. As they got closer, Hex and Paulo could make out what they were saying.

"...close at all, mind you." The woman was saying, "You think here's far enough?"

"Nah," growled the big man, "Another mile or two should do it." The young man in the middle didn't say anything, and conversation between the two others stopped as well. They all seemed to know what they were doing, and no discussion was needed. After a couple more minutes, the trio disappeared again over the next rise. Paulo and Hex emerged from behind the rock.

"What the hell was all that about?" Hex said.

"I don't know," Paulo replied, "But whatever it was, it was probably to do with the site. They came from that way."

"Follow them or continue?"

Paulo thought for a moment. He wanted to see what was happening to the young man, but he had doubts. They hadn't planned to get sidetracked along the way, and if they did anything different, Alex and the others should know. "I think we should stick to the plan." He decided.

"Me too. Then we can tell the others when we get there."

"At least the hardest part is over." Paulo panted as they reached the top of yet another steep hill. They had really struggled around midday, it being the hottest part of the day. It was still really hot now, but in comparison to earlier, it was a bit cooler, "Shall we stop for a while? I think we can allow it."

They sat down on the hard ground and observed the scene below them. This was a part of the area that Hex hadn't seen before, but Paulo had passed it when he came to see what the noise was with Amber. They could hear it now, and had been able to for the last hour or two.

"The site," Paulo pointed, "Is just over that mountain, straight ahead."

"One more downhill and one more uphill to go." Hex commented, relieved that the journey was nearly over. He tried to ignore the growing sense of unease and nervousness in his stomach as he thought about what might happen to them when they got over the hill. They hadn't properly talked over how they were going to get themselves 'caught'.

After they were feeling ready to carry on, the two boys stood up and started walking down the other side of the hill. The gap between this one and the last one was a flat plain about a mile wide, and they both knew it would be hard to get across without any shelter.

At last they made it to the bottom of the last mountain. The noise was louder than ever, and it was weird to think that the site was only a mile away, through the hill. They shared an exhausted glance and wearily started trekking up the steep hillside.

"It's the last mountain," Paulo was trying to comfort himself as well as Hex, "As soon as we get to the top of this one, we'll be able to see it. And the downhill will be easy." Hex could only grunt in reply. The heat was suffocating and the bag felt like it was heavier than it was, weighing down on his shoulders. Now he knew their destination was so near...

Ten metres from the top he stopped and got a drink from his bag. If he couldn't see the top he probably would have carried on. Paulo stopped a couple metres ahead and turned around.

"Just need a drink - " Hex murmured, and took a long swig of water.

"Come on," Paulo took Hex's arm and started dragging him up the hill. They were both desperate to stop, "We're so close. Right over this hill..." Paulo trailed off as they reached the top and the site was displayed below them. They sat down for one last time before they finished the journey, and to discuss the next part of the plan.

"It's huge," Hex muttered under his breath.

"Where do you think we should - er -get captured?" Paulo wondered aloud. Hex watched the streams of people, moving about, undertaking various jobs. It was so orderly, in straight lines, kept neat by the authority figures, making sure that no one stepped out of line. There was a clearing in the middle of two building structures with just two lines of people running through it, and a couple figures keeping order. Hex pointed at them.

"There looks a good place," He suggested, "It's not enclosed, so they won't really get too suspicious."

"OK then," Paulo stood and held out a hand for Hex to pull himself up, "And from there, we'll make it up. You ready to go?"

"Yup. Let's do this."

* * *

**Hey guys, this was chapter nine! Do you have any ideas as to what else you'd like to see, or what you're looking forward to etc.? Also what you think can be improved is great :D **

**Thanks for reading, and don't forget to look at Pass on the Story! Thanks muchly :P Spinky **


	10. Lions' Den

**Chapter Ten**

**Lions' Den**

* * *

"You see, the great thing is that now I actually have reason to believe he's _alive,_" Alice exclaimed, her eyes lighting up at the very thought of her brother returning home, "I haven't seen him in _two years_!"

"Great Alice. Were you two close?" Amber asked.

"Sure we were. Same as I was with all the other guys my age around here. The only one left is Janie, but I don't see her very often."

"I'm sure he's missing you too. Greg, I mean." Li said. She didn't want to say the possibility that things might go wrong, or they might not even have the right place.

"I hope so. And Sam, Michael and Dave, too. By the way - where are the other two boys who were with you?"

"Oh, them." Amber said, and kicked herself for not thinking this over before, "They, er..."

"They've just gone for a wander around the local area, to see what they could find." Li finished for her. Amber shot her a grateful glance. It was partly true, anyway.

"When're they going to be back?"

"Oh, who knows? You can never trust boys with these things." Amber said.

"Yeah, I know what you mean." Alice stopped and looked like she was remembering something, and Amber suddenly realised how close her words were to Alice's truth.

Li coughed in the uncomfortable silence that followed. "Does anyone have the time?"

Alex looked at his watch. "Just gone midday." He shared a look with the two girls, not wanting Alice to see. They were all thinking the same thing: Paulo and Hex might already be there now.

* * *

As they reached the bottom of the hill, Paulo took a deep breath. They hadn't been seen yet, so the worst was yet to come. Now they were so close, it seemed ridiculous just to amble in asking for a glass of water. They had to be two incredibly stupid individuals to pull that off.

"You ready?" Hex's voice broke into Paulo's thoughts. He nodded and started walking again, straight into the middle of danger. Hex struggled to catch up. Paulo was walking extremely fast; probably because he wanted to get it over and done with. Just twenty metres ahead of them were the slaves, walking in single file, carrying large rocks and bricks. As they got closer, the two boys could see the exhaustion in their faces, and it made them feel guilty for finding their journey here difficult.

They walked with their heads down, bearing the weight of the rocks and trying to ignore the pain. It had probably become their daily routine now. Hex watched as a boy of sixteen or seventeen suddenly stumbled on a lump in the ground and dropped his load. The boy stood for a second, staring at it, dreading picking it up again. His eyes were empty.

"Oi, you!" A harsh voice called out. Hex looked up. One of the leaders was stalking towards the boy, a tall, slim man in his thirties, fire in his eyes, "Get you're ass moving. Pick it up. You're holding everyone up."

"I was just - "

"Now!"

"But my back really - " The man looked like he was about to explode with anger, and he reached into his pocket. The terror in the boy's eyes was all too clear, and Paulo chose this moment to step in.

"Excuse me," He said, stepping forward and looking around in wonder, as if he'd never seen the place before, "My friend and I have been walking for ages, and we're out of water. Do you have anywhere we can top up?" The man was distracted, and his hand slipped out of his pocket again, empty. The boy hurriedly picked up the rock and carried on.

"Does it look like we have water?" The man said, looking Paulo and Hex up and down.

"Well, I assume so, otherwise how can - "

"What're you walking for?"

Paulo looked at Hex and shrugged, "It's what we do. We used to be - er - heavyweight champions," Paulo mentally kicked himself. It sounded terrible, and he was sure they didn't look very convincing. He heard Hex cough behind him, "But our manager lost his job, so for the last couple years we just wander around, keeping an eye out for a job."

"What're your names?"

Crap, though Hex. They hadn't discussed this. He didn't see any real harm in using their real names, as long as they didn't give away too much information. "Hex and Paulo." He replied.

"Both of you come with me. We may be able to offer you a job here. And some water." The man turned on his heel and started walking away towards a small building the opposite side of the site. He shouted out something to another attendant to watch his side of the clearing. Paulo and Hex shared a look behind his back and followed him through the numerous workers, anticipating what would happen next.

* * *

Alex glanced at the screen of the tracking device. Alice had left a few minutes ago, saying that her mum was probably wondering where she was.

"They've arrived." He said to the two girls.

"Wonder what they're doing," Amber murmured, "Why don't you turn on Hex's palmtop, in case he e-mails or something? You never know, he might get a chance to do it pretty soon."

"Good idea." Alex said, as he powered up the small computer. He shook his head. "Nope, nothing."

"Maybe we should call them, make sure they're OK." Li suggested.

Amber sighed, "Li, they'll be fine. Besides, we should wait until they call us if they've still got their mobiles. That way they'll only call when they're in a suitable situation to do so."

"It's just annoying that they're in danger and there's nothing we can do about it. Where's Debbie gone?"

"Buying some food or something." Alex replied. Amber sighed again and leaned back on the armchair. She was worried about Hex and Paulo. She knew that they were probably fine, but what if they weren't? What if they really needed Alex, Li and herself, but were unable to call for help? All she could do now was hope - pray that they were OK.

* * *

Hex looked miserably down at his shorts and bare torso, wishing they were given a few more clothes. After meeting the 'boss', they'd been told to change and meet back at the office to be given a job. They'd been promised a pay, but hadn't been asked for any details other than their first names.

The boss was a woman in her thirties - Erica. She looked just as Debbie had described her: professional. Just the type of person Hex didn't like. Her office was very square and white, and to Hex's relief, it had a computer. His mobile phone had been confiscated before he even went to get changed, along with Paulo's.

He met Paulo again outside the office. The building they were in was just a simple transportable hut, but the inside had been transformed into a classy work suite. After a couple minutes a man came out, probably Erica's right-hand man. He didn't say anything, just looked at them and started walking towards the door. They guessed that they were supposed to follow.

Outside, Hex was shocked by the heat.The hut had been air-conditioned. And from here, the conditions outside looked worse than ever. From what they could see, a couple hundred young men ploughed about their day, bearing the heat and slaving to earn the money that would never come. The man led them over to another authority standing next to a large pile of bricks. He was giving them to workers as they passed him, to take to the other workers laying down the bricks and mortar.

"You," He pointed to Hex, "I want you to work here. Join the line and do as you're told." Hex hesitated. Was that it? And where was Paulo going? He ignored the pit feeling in his stomach and did as the man said, taking the bundle of bricks he was given. It wasn't that heavy - he could manage. For now. He gave one last glance to Paulo, wondering when they were going to get a chance to talk again, but the man was already leading him on to somewhere new.

* * *

At the end of an exhausting day, Paulo stopped where he was and put down his spade. At least, he was guessing that the loud bell meant the end of the day. Hoping.

He turned around, and saw that everyone around him were also dropping spades, shovels, stopping the cement mixers and carrying concrete blocks back to the piles. So that was the end of the day. He looked at his watch, grateful that it hadn't been confiscated, and saw that the time was nearly ten o'clock. He wondered what time they got up in the morning.

He looked to the youth on his right for direction. His name was Dan and he'd been friendly to Paulo, showing him how to dig the foundations in a straight line and what was the easiest way to do it. Dan wiped his forehead with his hands and pointed to a large portable building.

"Dorms over there," He said, and started walking slowly towards them with the rest of the crowd. Paulo followed.

"Is there just one, or will I be told where to go?"

"You can ask one of the guys at the door. They'll tell you where there's a spare bed." Paulo nodded and kept an eye out for Hex. He had only seen him once since he was left at the brick pile, and that was only a glimpse of him passing a large brick to one of the builders. He had looked tired, but then again, Paulo thought, he probably looked the same. A thought suddenly struck him as he remembered Debbie and the others back home, and he hurried to catch up with Dan.

"Hey, wait a moment," He called, wincing as his voice cracked slightly from tiredness. Dan stopped and turned around, "You don't know anyone called Michael, do you? Or David?" Paulo watched him as he ran the names through his head, searching for any matches. What were the chances he knew them? Dan shook his head slowly. Paulo's shoulders slumped. Surely somebody must know them, out of a couple hundred people?

"But I know someone who's mentioned those names..." Paulo perked up, immediately interested. Dan continued as they walked towards the dormitories. "Guy called Sam, he used to work next to me, but got moved a couple months ago. I think he mentioned a Michael, bearing in mind it's a pretty common name. Why do you ask?"

Paulo shrugged, "Just curious. I used to know someone called Michael, who had a brother called David, and they disappeared a couple years ago. Thanks anyway."

"No problem."

Paulo followed Dan to the main door, where the rush was getting harder and others were pushing firmly to get inside. The weather was a lot cooler now and pleasant on their skin, but the shelter of an indoor building was still incredibly appealing. Just as he approached the door, Paulo sidestepped the crowd and confronted a man standing by the door, wondering where Hex was.

"Sir," Paulo began, and flinched at the coldness in the man's eyes as they bore down into his own. He wasn't any taller or larger than Paulo, but he definitely gave the impression he was. Gulping, Paulo continued, "I'm new here. I only got here today, and I don't know where I should be."

The man paused for a moment, looking Paulo up and down as if he were taking him in. "There's a few spare beds in the third dorm." He said finally. Paulo nodded uncomfortably and made his way into the building. There was a small space beyond with six doors, six dorms. The third one had its door shut. He noticed the man had said a 'few' spare beds - could that mean he'd end up being in the same room as Hex? It would make it a lot easier for them to communicate.

He pushed the door open and was immediately greeted by a welcoming chatter. Young men were sat all about the place, climbing into bed and talking with others. There was a huge sense of unity between the slaves, Paulo thought, in between the working. The room was huge, about the size of a large hall, and it was filled with bunks dotted about the place. The whole room reminded him of a cheap village hall, with a linoleum floor and peeling wallpaper. It would have accommodated about forty people, at least. He made his way over to a bed near the far end that looked free, with a single blanket covering the thin mattress.

"Excuse me," He asked a nearby youth who was wearily climbing into bed, looking like he was in danger of falling asleep at any moment. He looked up, "Is this bed free?"

The youth thought for a moment, before replying, "I think so. Yeah, this dude used to sleep there, but recently he broke his ankle and got taken away. Yeah, it's free. So's that one just down there."

"Taken away?"

The youth nodded. "That's what happens when you get disabled. Dunno what happens to you, except that you don't come back." With that, he turned away from Paulo and became still. He was asleep already.

_Taken away? _Paulo thought. He remembered Hex's words: _'They get killed. I don't know how, but they do.' _And suddenly he couldn't shake off the image he and Hex had seen on their way over here; the man being escorted across the desert to be 'disposed'. He cursed himself. Why hadn't they done anything at the time? A familiar voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"You're in here too, then." He looked up to see Hex approaching, the tiredness all too clear on his face.

"Yup. There's another bed over there, I think." Hex looked over to where Paulo was pointing, and nodded. "So, how was your day?"

Hex shrugged. "Same as yours. Dunno how it'll get later on though."

Paulo lowered his voice. "What's next? They took my mobile, unfortunately. We'll have to go for the computer plan. Thankfully I've still got my tracking device, I transferred it onto these." Paulo indicated the shorts that had been provided for him.

"There was a computer in Erica's office. We just need to work out how to get in there."

Paulo sighed. He was too exhausted to think. "I know. We should sleep on it, and hopefully a better idea will come up tomorrow." Hex nodded and turned towards the free bed. The dorm was filling up now, so it was obvious which one Paulo had meant. His back was already hurting from all the carrying heavy loads to and fro, more than he cared to admit. He sighed as he swung himself up onto the bunk. These people could manage fine, every day for two years. He'd get used to it.

Right now, he felt incredibly claustrophobic. His personal space was being invaded by dozens of people he'd never met in his life, and the ceiling was just a bit too low for his liking. There was no privacy in this place, and no palmtops. He'd just have to grin and bear it. He pulled the thin blanket over himself and let sleep overwhelm him, in the hope that this mission would end soon.

* * *

**So, here you go! I'd like to thank emmalea21, who unknowingly came up with this chapter title, and also for the only review last chapter! Thanks for reading, and please review! Much appreciated. **

**Same goes, don't forget Pass on the Story and CC.**

**Spinky :D**


	11. Relationships

**Chapter Eleven**

**Relationships**

* * *

Paulo woke the next day to sore muscles and a splitting headache. It was going to take him a while to get used to a life like this, he decided. Looking around, he saw that everywhere, people were moving around the dorm, getting changed quickly and chatting quietly. Was it time to get up already?

He groaned and sat up in his bunk, forgetting how low the ceiling was. He cursed as he hit his head, not helping his headache, and tried again, slowly. Today was not going to be a good day.

At least it wouldn't take him long to get ready. He only had the one change of clothes, so all he had to do was wash himself. There was a small block of showers in between the two dorms, so he purposely headed in that direction.

On the way, he caught sight of Hex, struggling to get up. Unlike Paulo, he'd been given a bottom bunk, and was yet still finding it hard to get out of his bed. Paulo looked at the wall clock: it was 6:00am. These people pulled off nearly 16 hours of working a day. Even to Paulo, who spent most of his time at home working out on the ranch, found that exceedingly difficult. Did they ever get a break?

Paulo was suddenly aware of someone trailing him to the shower block. He turned and saw a young man roughly his own age, with his bed blanket slung over his shoulder, following him. He was tall and lanky, and there was something familiar about his face.

"Erm, hi." Paulo said, "I'm Paulo. New here."

"Y'should never have come, Paulo." The guy's eyes looked sad, as he watched, in his opinion,someone else fall into the trap. He smiled nevertheless, "Nice to meet you. I'm Greg."

"Greg?" Paulo ran the name through his head, searching for any possible matches. Where had he heard that name recently? And why did he look – "You don't have a sister, do you? Called Alice?"

Greg stopped right in his tracks and his blanket dropped to the floor. He stared at Paulo with a mixture of shock and disbelief on his features. "What? How – "

Paulo kicked himself for being so forward. How was he going to explain this in one sentence? "I met her just before I came up here. You look like her. She told me about you, how you'd disappeared a couple years back, and then I went and got caught in it myself." Paulo smiled dryly.

"Oh my God, is she OK?"

"She's fine. Just misses you. Look, I'm sorry for bringing it out like that – "

Greg shook his head. "Don't mention it. I'm just so glad she's OK." He bent down and picked up his blanket again, still muttering to himself in disbelief, "Oh, hey – did you meet my parents? Are they all right?"

"I didn't meet them personally, but Alice mentioned them both. I think they're fine."

"Oh, thank God."

Paulo remembered Debbie. "In that case, you would know Michael, wouldn't you? Debbie's son. And David."

"Sure I do." Greg pointed to a dark-haired young man, also Paulo's own age, sitting on the edge of a bed and rubbing his sore feet. "That's Michael. Dave's in the other dorm, so I don't see him as much. That guy over there is Sam, who's also from our place."

Paulo followed Greg's finger to where a shorter, stockier blond was talking to Michael, waiting for him to get to work.

"Thank you very much. I'd like to meet them – Debbie was incredibly worried, too."

"I'm sure she was."

Paulo made his way over to the two boys, slightly nervously. He didn't want to make the same mistake of being too forward, and he wanted to make a good impression. They both looked up as he came over.

"Ah… Michael? And Sam?" He started, mentally congratulating himself. It was a good start, especially one to have thought of on the spot. The boys nodded. "Listen," Paulo began. They both looked at him in anticipation. "I'm new here, but before I came I was staying in a small place about twenty kilometres from here." Paulo noticed both the boys' eyes lit up in hope. He looked at Michael "I stayed with your mother."

"What?" Michael stood up immediately, banging his head on the top bunk. Even after over two years here, he still wasn't quite used to the small space. "Are you serious? Debbie Foreman?"

"The one and only. She's fine." Paulo watched and smiled as Michael's face was overjoyed with a new hope and he grabbed Sam in a bear hug.

"You hear that, Sam? Mom's OK! Which probably means your family is, too!" Sam grinned and looked at Paulo.

"What's your name? Did you meet my family? Why are you here?"

"Unfortunately, no. I'm really sorry. I'm Paulo, by the way. I got here the same way as you did, really. I was just hiking the area with my friend," Paulo waved a hand over at Hex, who he saw was still trying to lure himself out of bed, and made a mental note to go and pull him out himself in a minute, "We stumbled across the site. Both of us were in need of a job."

"Mom is getting the money through, isn't she?" Michael suddenly asked. Paulo's heart started thumping. He knew the answer. No, she hadn't. But should he say that so soon? Could he trust these people enough yet to let them in on what was happening? He shook his head.

"I don't know, sorry." Michael's shoulders sagged.

"Oh well, no worries. I'm sure she is. Have you spoken to my brother?"

"You mean David? No, I don't even know what he looks like. Are you going to tell him?"

Michael hesitated before answering, "I would. At the moment, he's ignoring me. By 'at the moment', I mean for the last two years or so. Tries to pretend he doesn't know me."

Paulo was shocked. This was so different from the way Debbie had portrayed her sons' relationship. "Why?"

"I'm not sure. I think he blames me for this whole mess, or seeing me just reminds him of mom. I guess it's just his way of dealing with it."

"Have you tried speaking to him?"

"Jeez, yeah! But I gave up last year. It's like hitting your head against a brick wall; he just won't listen. Now I just see him round and about occasionally, but hell, has he grown."

"Do you want me to talk to him?"

Michael thought for a moment. "Nah, I don't think so. I'd rather tell him myself. I'll get through to him somehow, and at least I'll have an excuse to talk to him! Hey Paulo, thanks, man. I really appreciate what you've told me."

"And me." Sam interjected.

Paulo smiled and turned around, wishing more than anything he could tell the three boys what exactly he and Hex were doing here. But he knew he couldn't, not until he and Hex had a firm plan.

"Get out of bed, Hex." He said, lowering his voice as he came nearer. Hex glared at him and sighed.

"Jeez, it's what - four in the morning? I have to be given time to adapt to these hours."

After showering, a loud alarm filled the room, and at once everyone started moving. Paulo looked around, startled. Nobody seemed to be panicking. It was probably just a 'get outside' bell. Hex cursed and pulled himself out of bed, following the others out of the door, and Paulo trailed after him, wondering what their second day at the camp had in store for them.

* * *

"Have you tried their mobiles?" Amber asked, pacing around the room. Alex shook his head.

"Bad idea. Might be in the hands of the authorities. I wouldn't worry about it. It might take them a while to find a way to contact us."

Amber sighed and sat down. "Are you sure? Here, gimme that thing." She took the palmtop from Alex's grasp and checked the inbox. Seeing no message that appealed to her, she sighed again and handed the computer back to Alex. "I hope they're OK."

"They'll be fine. You worry too much." Li said. She was sat cross-legged on the floor, unwinding and winding her hair into a long plait. Amber shot her a look. Li saw it and took advantage. "You're worried, especially about - "

"Shut up, Li." Amber muttered. Alex looked between the two girls, a confused look on his face.

"Ooh, touchy." Li smirked, eyes twinkling. "Just admit it, Amber. We all know you like - "

"Like who? Paulo? I think he's taken, don't you?" Amber shot back. Li grinned widely. Alex continued to stare at the two girls as if he was watching a tennis match, completely baffled.

"At least I can admit it."

Amber shrunk back in her armchair and sighed, again. She snatched the palmtop from Alex again. "Gimme that." She said.

* * *

It was the middle of the day, and Hex was already exhausted. He'd been hoping today would be better, that the only reason he had found yesterday hard was because they'd had the long walk to get to the site.

Then again, he hadn't rested properly since he'd left, so surely it was understandable. He watched as he approached the pile of bricks to fetch a new one. The man in charge had two bricks in line, one smaller and one larger, and there was someone in front of Hex. He cursed as the smaller one was handed to the guy in front of him.

He took the burden from the authority and started walking towards the bricklayers. He couldn't understand how these people put up with this, day in, day out. He was just walking around in circles, picking up loads on his way and dumping them on his way back. And for _two _years - he couldn't even begin to imagine.

Suddenly the guy in front of him tripped over a lump in the ground and was sent sprawling. Hex cried out in surprise and quickly dropped his brick to see if he was OK. Hex had been trailing him all day, and had noticed a slight limp. He knelt down beside the man and peered at his face to check he was still there, when he felt a heavy hand on his shoulder.

"Get up." A deep voice grunted. He turned to see a huge man with a frown on his face. He wanted to yell at him, make him realise that some of these people weren't fit enough to be working like this, but he knew that he and Paulo had to keep a low profile. He gulped. Well, at least they knew the worker was down... Hex stood up slowly and retrieved his load from the ground. He continued around the men, an uneasy pit in his stomach, and the whole line followed behind him. None of them looked surprised, just tired. He looked over his shoulder while the young man was pulled to his feet, obviously in pain.

He was led away by the large man, and soon he disappeared from view. Hex tried to shrug the thoughts off his mind, only to realise how desperately he needed the toilet. How did they do things around here? Did he need to ask to be excused? He dumped his burden next to one of the bricklayers and turned to the man behind him.

"Hey," He began. The man looked startled at the thought of someone speaking during working hours, "I need the loo. Do I need to ask to go, or can I just go?"

The man hesitated. "You just go. And be quick." He muttered, before darting off to continue working. He was acting like he wanted no responsibility for this at all. He shrugged to himself and went inside.

* * *

As he came out of the door, he was shocked to see Paulo emerge from the opposite end. He stopped in surprise, but Paulo made straight for him.

"We need to talk," He muttered as he neared Hex, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him back into the toilet block, "And here is the only place we're going to get some privacy."

"Why? What is it?"

Once Paulo had checked there was nobody else in there, he turned to Hex. "I've met Michael, Sam and Greg. It's not really that important, I just thought you'd like to know, and seeing as I was passing you here, I might as well tell you."

"Good. What about the other one - Debbie's other son, or something?"

"Michael says he hasn't spoken to him in over a year, but I wouldn't worry about that yet. We need to make a plan, fast. Somehow, we must create a distraction so you can get to Erica's computer and tell the others exactly what we've seen, so they can work something out. As for the distraction - "

"I don't see why we can't let Michael in on this, at least. I think he deserves to know that he and the others were the original reason we came here."

"Maybe, but as a last resort. The fewer people that know, the - "

Paulo broke off as the door handle turned. It seemed like an eternity before the door opened and they were faced with the massive frame of an angry-looking official.

* * *

**So there you have it! Chapter... what is it? Eleven? Thanks for reading, guys, and please review! What's going to happen to Hex and Paulo? Don't forget Pass on the Story and CC!**

**Spinky :D**


	12. Warning

**Chapter Twelve**

**Warning**

* * *

"I'm going to go for a walk," Alex said standing up from his position on the sofa, "Anyone else coming?" He stretched out his cramped muscles and yawned. It had been a restless few hours, and he was tired of sitting in the same position for so long.

Amber shook her head. "Nah, I think I'll keep an eye on the palmtop, just in case they try to contact." Li saw the look in Amber's eye and nodded.

"I'll stay too," she said, "See you in a bit."

Alex waved lightly and headed out of the door, revelling in the fresh air. Once the door had shut behind him, Li turned to Amber.

"So, what's up?"

"Nothing. I'm worried, that's all." Amber turned to the palmtop and began fiddling restlessly with the mouse-pad, watching the cursor dart across the screen. Li gently reached out and took it from Amber's grasp, setting it on the floor.

"We're all worried, Amber. But honestly, they'll be fine. Maybe they're just trying to work out a way to communicate. We know they're not lost or anything, because their tracking devices are showing up at the camp. OK?"

Amber stared at Li for a moment, and then sighed. "I know," She said, "but it's so much easier when it's_ you_ going in. Then the only person you've got to worry about is yourself."

"I know what you mean."

The door opened and Debbie entered, carrying a basket of laundry. She smiled at the sight of the two girls. "I've just spoken to Sam's mom. She's as healthy as ever." Seeing the look on their faces, she hastily added, "Don't worry - I didn't tell her about your plan. I'm just sure she's going to be so happy to see Sam again. I don't think you teenagers realise just how much you're doing for this community."

* * *

Paulo reacted at lightening speed to the sight of the figure at the door. Without hesitation, he plunged his fist into Hex's face and started breathing hard. If the authorities thought this was just a bit of fighting, maybe they wouldn't be suspicious. Hex's eyes widened in pain as he fell back against the sinks, and the big man jumped in before any of them had a chance to react.

"Break it up, you two!" He grabbed Paulo by the arm and hauled Hex to his feet with the other, while Hex supported a smarting cheekbone. Paulo glanced apologetically at him behind the guard's back. He'd been shocked by the force of the punch himself - he had reacted so quickly he hadn't had time to control the speed.

The guard stalked out of the toilets at high speed, dragging the two boys with him. He had them in such a tight grip; they had no choice but to follow. Paulo mentally kicked himself. He was hoping just to cover up the fact they were talking, not draw attention to themselves. And here they were, being taken somewhere - Erica's office, most likely.

But they went past Erica's door, and out into the sunlight. Paulo breathed a sigh of relief. The guard swung round and glared at them both.

"You," He snarled at Paulo, "Get back to work. No more violence, or I'll have to tell the boss." Paulo nodded and mumbled an apology, shuffling off to continue his working. While he was still within earshot, he quickly turned to see what the guard would do next.

"You all right?" He demanded. Hex nodded. "Then you get back to work, too. I don't want to see you again today." The man turned and walked back into the building, probably to go to the toilet, as he originally intended to do. Hex cast a glance in Paulo's direction before moving away, and to Paulo's relief; he only gave a look that said 'Phew, that was close.' Paulo shrugged apologetically and went back towards his working post.

* * *

Erica frowned as she watched the spectacle from her window. This wasn't good - violence in the camp. If everyone acted like that, it would never get finished on time, and TD would not be happy. TD... she often wondered what his real name was.

The big Argentinean wandered away after a few words from the guards, but turned to see what would happen to the other boy. Interesting... there was a look of - concern? - On his face? The white boy was sent away, and she saw the look they shared. It didn't look like they had been fighting a minute before. They could have been almost - friends. Curious.

She heard the guard storming past her door and called out to him.

"Jones? Come in here a minute, please." She heard the footsteps stop, backtrack, and then her door slowly opened. The man stood in the doorway, a questioning look on his face. "What just happened?"

"Nothing much, ma'am. Caught two boys getting a bit violent in the toilets. Won't happen again."

"Are you sure?"

"I'll make sure it doesn't."

Erica smiled. She looked out of the window again for a second. The Argentinean was back to work, laying bricks, while the other was joining one of the long lines. They weren't looking at each other. But then she saw it - the Argentinean shooting a worried glance at the other, a guilty look - checking if he was OK? She frowned again.

"Keep an eye on those two for me, will you?" The man nodded and began to step back. "Any more suspicious behaviour from either of them, and alert me immediately. There's a good chap." The guard gave one last, embarrassed nod and left the room, shutting the door carefully behind him. Erica sighed and turned back to her computer.

* * *

Hex awoke later that night to the sound of someone calling his name - or was it a dream?

"Ugh," He muttered, and turned over, pulling the thin blanket over his head. He wasn't in the mood - he was incredibly tired after an exhausting day, a late night - _and_ he had to get up early tomorrow. Someone shook his shoulder and whispered his name again.

"_Hex!_ Wake up!" Hex opened his eyes groggily and came face to face with Paulo. He would have shouted out loud if he hadn't suddenly remembered where he was. He remembered last time he'd been caught communicating with Paulo - and he didn't want that happening again.

"Wha- ?" He muttered, sitting up. Paulo relaxed, but still kept his voice down.

"We need to discuss what to do next, and right now seems like the only option," he hissed, while Hex wearily sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"There's a computer in Erica's room. We need to e-mail the others; until they know what's going on, there's nothing we can do."

"What can they do?"

Hex shrugged. "I dunno. Work it out - they're in a better position to take action than we are."

"And how are you going to do that? What if Erica's computer is locked?" Hex gave Paulo a patronizing look, and Paulo understood. Hex was an expert hacker, and not even the strongest security could stop him. "OK, OK, I get it. But how are you going to get in there without anyone noticing?"

Hex thought for a moment. "You'll have to create a distraction of some sort, while I go in there and do it."

"Distraction?" Came a new voice, and both boys turned, fearing the worst. They were surprised to find Michael standing there, barefoot, with an accusing look on his face.

"Michael - keep your voice down..." Paulo began, but Michael approached. He began speaking again, but this time, to Paulo's relief, in a much lower whisper. They last thing they wanted was to get caught right now.

"What are you talking about, with distractions? What the hell are you planning on doing? If you step one foot out of line here, it's our necks on the line..."

"I know, I know. Listen," Paulo said urgently, and he shared a quick look with Hex. Hex gave him a look that said, 'What harm can it do?' Besides, Michael might be able to help them. So Paulo quickly related the story, as far as meeting Debbie in the small village. He didn't mention Alpha Force, instead pretending that the five friends had only pulled together just this once. Michael listened with wide eyes and growing fascination.

"I can't believe it. Why would you... _deliberately_ put yourself in for this, when you knew the dangers?"

Paulo shrugged. "We wanted to help. So what we need to do, is create a distraction so Hex can send an e-mail to our friends, and they can work it out from there."

"Sounds good. And then Greg, Sam and I will be able to get home!" Michael hesitated for a moment. "And Dave." Paulo saw his downcast look and sympathised with him.

"I'm sure it's just his way of dealing with everything - I wouldn't worry too much. Once this is all over, he'll come round."

"I know." Michael nodded and paused again. "I miss him."

Hex cleared his throat in the uncomfortable silence that followed. "So," He began, "The distraction. Any ideas?"

* * *

**There we go! I'm sorry it took me so long to update... GCSE's and all that rubbish, but hopefully updates will be quicker now they're over! This chapter is a bit shorter than usual. Would like to say thanks to all my reviewers so far: ChristinaAngel, lepidopteran, emmalea21, kat priestly, Seeker Kze and princess-eli! Much appreciated... and also a big thanks to my beta, Elledreamer! Once again, I'm sorry for the delay, and don't forget Pass on the Story and the Alpha Force Role Play, both found on the Forums page! **

**Spinky :D**


	13. A New Hope

**Chapter Thirteen**

**A New Hope**

* * *

"A fire," Michael said without hesitation. Paulo and Hex looked at him in surprise, and he held his arms up, "What? We've often toyed with the ideas ourselves, but have never plucked up the courage to actually do it."

"Sounds good, but how would it work?" Paulo asked.

"Not sure, but think about it – round here is one of the hottest places in the world. And think of all the wood!"

The idea was already growing on Hex and Paulo. They were impressed with Michael's thinking, but there were still many holes that needed filling.

"How would you start it? And is there a fire alarm – will everyone get out safely?"

"I think so. As you can imagine, everyone who works here is incredibly fit from all the work – running away will be simple. The only ones who'll get left behind are the fat guards."

Paulo's eyes shone as he grew more and more accustomed to the idea. "And if it's outside, you can run in and send your e-mail while all the guards are trying to create some sense of order. I'm sure that between you lot, you can create enough havoc to keep them on their feet!"

"We need to plan this thoroughly. Is tomorrow too soon, or can we get word around before then?"

"Sure, tomorrow's fine. Say, can I tell Sam and Greg about the plan? They'll be able to help."

Paulo and Hex shared an uneasy glance. "We're not sure..." Paulo began.

"The less people that know about it, the better. As long as everyone just runs when the fire alarm sounds," Hex finished, and Michael's shoulders slumped.

"OK, OK. But they can help me create havoc. We could start a fight if the security guards are too distracted."

Paulo thought about it, and then nodded. "OK. You can tell them, but they must swear to keep it quiet. So about the fire..."

"Wait, I'll go get them now. Then they could help plan this." Michael grinned at the two other boys before bounding quietly over towards his two friends to wake them. Hex turned to Paulo and whispered,

"Are you sure this is a good idea? What time do you think it is?"

As Hex shifted, Paulo glimpsed the dark bruise spreading along his cheekbone and grimaced. Glancing outside, he replied, "It's about two, I think. We've got at least three hours until we're woken. Listen, about what happened..."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine. Do you really think we can carry this out by tomorrow?"

"Sure. I've met Sam and Greg – they seem trustworthy enough." Paulo stopped as Michael returned, followed by two stumbling figures. He dragged them up to Hex and Paulo.

"This is Hex. You've met Paulo," he said, "Listen carefully, you two. Here's what's going to happen."

* * *

Alex slowly wandered the dusty streets of the small village, wondering if he would find anything of interest before he returned back to Debbie's for the night. The sun was lower in the sky and he'd been out for a good hour, far preferring the big outdoors to the tiny interior of Debbie's house.

In all truth, he was worried. They still hadn't heard from Hex or Paulo. Granted, they hadn't been gone for long... but surely they must have found some way of communication by now? At least he knew they'd reached the camp safely enough.

He should stop worrying, he thought. He was just being paranoid. They were planning at this exact moment what to do. Maybe they'd have even contacted Amber and Li by the time he got back...?

A friendly female voice interrupted him from his thoughts. "Hey there." Alex turned and was greeted by a lined, but smiling, face of a middle-aged woman hanging some clothes out on a line. The house behind her was similar to Debbie's, if a little bigger, with the same structure and tired appearance.

"Hi," Alex replied and smiled back. The woman put down the basket of clothes and held out her hand. Alex shook it.

"You don't sound local. You're not one of the kids staying with Debbie, are you...?"

"Uh, yeah. I'm just having a bit of a wander." Alex let go of her hand.

"I'm Alice's mom. Lovely to meet you. I was speaking to Debbie a while ago... she mentioned you were trying to help."

"Well," Alex shrugged and wiped his forehead, "We're doing our best."

Alice's mother smiled again and pickled up her laundry. "I hope you know that you've got the entire village behind you. Even those who didn't lose any kids to those frauds. I can't wait to see my Greg again..." Alex bid her goodbye and continued down the road. He was sure Alice's mother – he'd never even found out her name – had meant well, but now he felt a whole new burden of pressure to get this right. Now more people knew, more people were hoping to have their kids home, safe and sound, and Alex didn't know if Alpha Force could achieve that.

He returned to the small house just as the sun was beginning to set. He'd been out for over two hours and had found nothing of interest. Apart from a friendly conversation with Ryan, and meeting Alice's mother, the trip was entirely wasted.

As he opened the door, he was greeted by the sight of Amber and Li both fast asleep on the sofa, Li's head on Amber's shoulder. He smiled and shut the door slowly. It had been a long day, and right now he wanted nothing more than to lie down himself and sleep for three days.

But that wouldn't be fair... not with everything going on like this.

Debbie emerged from the other room, yawning and rubbing her eyes. "Alex," she smiled, "You're back. Listen, you don't mind if I snag the beds tonight, do you? The old armchair's not good for my back, and, well, I can't wake these two sleeping angels! Would you mind sleeping on the armchair?"

"No, it's fine," Alex replied immediately, his polite upbringing snapping into action, "Were you waiting for me to get back?"

"I thought it was only fair. Did you find anything?"

"No. I met Alice's mother, though."

"Lovely woman. Bit eccentric at times, but what do you expect from an ex-Broadway performer?"

Alex said nothing. He'd had no idea... the 'Alice's mother' he'd met had seemed tired and drawn and ready to move on. He had no doubt that most of her lines had formed during the last two years.

"Anyway, goodnight, Alex. Have you heard from your friends yet?"

"No. Hopefully we'll have heard something by tomorrow. Goodnight." Debbie smiled and exited the room, shutting the door between them. Alex sighed and flopped down on the armchair, not even bothering to undress. His bag was all the way over on the other side of the room, and right now, he didn't feel as though he had the energy to reach it.

He was planning on thinking over what they'd do if Hex and Paulo hadn't contacted them by tomorrow, but sleep overwhelmed him straight away and he was lost to the world until morning.

* * *

"...just need to plan the distraction." Paulo finished updating Sam and Greg, and waited with baited breath to see their reaction. To his relief, Greg smiled.

"I'm all for it. What do you say, Sam?"

Sam was a little more hesitant. "I'm not sure. I mean, the site's almost finished, isn't it? Why not just wait until we're done, and we can get sent home in peace? If this goes wrong..."

"Sam," Michael took his best friend's shoulders and swivelled him around to face him, "This is the chance of our lives. These guys have worked so hard to be here and help get us out. They have friends working outside who can also help us. If we don't break out now, we might never get the chance, they might kidnap us, they might take us to another site to start building something else..."

"They wouldn't!" Sam interjected, shocked. Michael shook his head sadly and released his friend's shoulders.

"We don't know what these people will do. Remember Terry who hurt his foot last week? They took him away. Both the people who took him have returned, yet there's no sign of Terry. Think, Sam. That could easily happen to one of us." Hex remembered the young man they'd seen being dragged away on their journey here, and couldn't help wondering if that was the Terry Michael knew. They should have done something...

Sam looked away, biting his lip. Paulo watched him in anticipation. If Sam disagreed, he could let slip to one of the officials... anything could go wrong...

"OK," he said, "I'm in."

"Yes!" Michael hissed, then lowered his voice when the others gave him a startled look, "Sorry."

Paulo glanced at the other beds. Not a person had stirred. "No problem," he chuckled.

"The fire will be easy," Greg said, and the others looked his way, "We can use my glasses. If I direct them at the sun, and put some dry wood under them, the prescription is pretty strong so a fire will be started pretty quickly."

"Good idea," Michael said, and then thought for a moment. "Hey, why doesn't your face ever catch fire, if it's that easy?"

Greg gave him a look that reminded him of the many Hex gave his friends when they asked a question about computers. Greg replied coolly, "I don't look at the sun."

The morning bell was far too early, Hex grimaced. It seemed only ten minutes ago the boys had put themselves back to bed, and already they were being forced awake again.

He sat up and immediately groaned and lay back down on the bed – he should have expected this. Sore muscles were always worst on the third day, he mused, and placed a hand across his forehead. He could hear Paulo and Michael talking in low voices a few metres away, and decided he had to get up, now...

Biting his lip, Hex sat up and ignored the aching all over his body. _Get used to it, _he thought, _it'll get worse._

"Don't worry," an unfamiliar voice said. Hex looked up into a sympathetic face, "The first few days are always the worst."

Hex forced a grin and stood up, hanging on to the side of the bunk for support. He glanced over at Paulo again, who was looking in his direction with a smirk on his face. Hex glared back as Paulo moved towards him.

"This hard work getting a bit too much for you, Hex? We could always send you back and get Alex in instead."

"Shut up," Hex growled, but Paulo wasn't finished.

"Amber would be delighted..."

Hex turned away to look at the clock, wincing as his sore neck protested. When he turned back to Paulo, he didn't miss Paulo's eyes on his cheekbone. Instinctively he reached up and touched the bruise, looking questioningly at Paulo.

"How does it look?"

"If only I'd aimed a bit higher, you'd have a nice black eye."

Hex grimaced.

"I'm sorry, Hex. I didn't stop to think, I just had to – "

"It's fine," Hex waved away the apology and they headed outside to the burning sun. Paulo caught Greg's eye, who grinned and pointed subtly to his glasses. Paulo nodded. He was ready; Hex was ready – they were all ready.

He just prayed it would work.

* * *

**So I've figured a good way to cure writer's block is to simply reread your story from the start. It kinda rekindles the fire that made you start the story in the first place... anyone understand?**

**Anyway, as I was rereading, I realised that the last time I updated was the 18th June 2007, which is over half a year ago. And then I was ashamed! So I thought the least I could do was post two chapters in one go.**

**Hugely sorry for the wait, guys. And I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next!**

**Spinky :)**


	14. Havoc

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Havoc**

* * *

Outside, it was even hotter than Paulo had anticipated. The sun beat down from a cloudless sky, as if it was midday already. Paulo had hardly had time to take this in when he was herded off to his workplace and given a shovel to start digging a new foundation. It occurred to him that they still hadn't figured out what the building they were working on would be used for: it was still a shell.

As he sliced the shovel through the dry earth, he turned to the man next to him, one he'd not met, and wiped his brow.

"Do you know what this building is going to be?" he asked. The man didn't respond for a second, but turned his head sufficiently enough to shoot Paulo a quick glance.

"You're talking to me?"

"Uh... yes," Paulo replied. He noted the man's surprised expression but didn't say anything.

"I have no idea. I just want the money, and to go home. But I only think it'll take another few months – possibly a year." The man turned back to his work. Obviously he thought the conversation was closed. As Paulo was turning around himself, he caught sight of Greg leaning over by a pile of wood.

As Greg stood up, Paulo saw he wasn't wearing his glasses... why...? Suddenly he realised Greg must be starting the fire. Their eyes met and Greg grinned slightly, a bit unfocussed by the look on his face. Paulo only hoped he didn't need his glasses too urgently. He gave Greg a thumbs-up as he moved away and turned back to his own work. Now the next signal was when the yelling started...

Amber awoke to the sound of Li and Alex bickering over something or other. Where was Hex? And Paulo? Then she remembered... she opened her eyes and glared blearily at Li and Alex.

"Would you guys give it a break already? You've been arguing all morning."

"All morning? Jeez, Amber, you've only just woken up." Amber glared at Li and sat up straight, rubbing a hand over her face and yawning.

"I didn't get much sleep."

"Sure."

"I'm serious!" Amber's eyes fell on the open palmtop next to Alex, and the dim white light emitting from the screen. "Have they sent anything?"

Alex shook his head.

Amber sighed and put her head in her hands. "This is all wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong."

"Amber," Li put a hand on her best friend's shoulder, "No, it's not. I'm sure Hex and Paulo are fine. We'd have probably heard something if..."

"From who?" Amber interrupted, "This is so stupid. Whose dumb idea was this anyway? They're probably dead, or captured..."

"Amber," Alex cut her off mid-flow, "I understand why you're worried. Heck, I'm worried too, and I'm sure Li is. But sitting here moaning isn't going to change anything. Maybe they're just having a communication problem."

Amber said nothing.

"I'll tell you what," Alex continued, "If we haven't heard from them by – " he looked at his watch, " – five o'clock tonight, we'll go in, OK?"

"And do what?" Li questioned. Alex looked at her and shrugged.

"I don't know. But we'll do something."

Amber leaned over and took the palmtop. "In the meantime, we may as well do something useful. What was the real name of that Erica person again?"

"Hannah Gates," Li replied. Amber grinned and rolled up her sleeves.

"Unlikely, I know, but let's see if Hex missed anything."

* * *

Hex's arms were aching already, and he'd only been outside and working for half an hour. The easiest way to get through the day, he decided, was to ignore the pain and block out any tiring thoughts that entered his mind.

Since they'd parted that morning, he'd only caught a brief glimpse of Sam, but had seen nothing of Paulo or the others. He was beginning to wonder if this was such a good idea after all – so much could go wrong. Last night they'd been tired and exhausted; who was to say they hadn't been delusional when making this plan?

He lugged away at the heavy work, taking bricks to and fro and going around in endless cycles. If this guy was so clever, why didn't he just hire a digger?

It was nearing midday when he heard the first yell. He looked up, startled, and saw a young man pointing at a large pile of wood and jumping up and down. At first, Hex couldn't see any problem, but then caught sight of the thin plume of smoke rising steadily into the air.

The people around him were distracted too. The work was brought to a standstill as the slaves were faced with the most exciting event for two years and had to stop and stare for a while. An annoyed lookingofficial was making his way over to the young man, a heavy frown creasing his face, obviously intending to force him back to work, when he too saw the beginnings of a fire.

On a pile of wood.

During midday on the hottest day for weeks.

Another angry shout came from behind and Hex turned to see another official glaring at them all and waving his hands to keep them moving.

"Get back on with your work! Everything's under control. We don't need you lot sticking your noses in..."

Gradually the work resumed with disappointed faces as three more guards jogged to the fire with buckets of cold water and drenched it. Hex bit his lip when the smoke disappeared for a second, but mentally relaxed when he saw the first of many flames licking up the adjacent blocks of wood and spread the fire.

This was going to be good. Now all he had to do was wait.

* * *

By two o'clock, the fire was still burning and officials were still running back and forth trying to put it out. They'd even given a few workers buckets and told them to help, but even Paulo could see it was getting bigger faster than they could make it smaller.

There was an unusual buzz surrounding the workers, and for once people had something to talk about. Someone had even grinned at Paulo, as if to say, 'Isn't this exciting?' Paulo had grinned right back. This might just work.

A loud bang took his attention as he pulled his shovel from the ground for the thousandth time and he turned in time to see part of the scaffolding around a tall wall fall to the ground. The fire had climbed onto the thin wooden supports and burnt through, causing the whole structure to collapse, along with the people on it.

Paulo held his breath as the workers lay on the ground for a second. Had anyone been hurt? He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw one stir and help the others up, and felt those around him relax, too. He guessed they'd seen enough death from injury to last a lifetime.

He suddenly realised that the fire was spreading to the next scaffolding, which had twice as many people on it than the first. The workers on the first had been lucky... what if these weren't so...?

Ignoring the strange looks and warnings, he ran forwards, yelling and waving his arms.

"Get off! Get off the scaffolding! It's going to fall. You need to get down..." The workers on the structure noticed his yelling and started to climb down, startled, but were stopped by a guard with a large stick. Another guard grabbed Paulo from behind and shoved him roughly towards the line.

"Stay there! Don't cause anymore trouble!"

"But..."

"We'll deal with this."

Paulo didn't need to reply, as at that moment the flames caught on to the next scaffolding and more workers from the ground joined in with him. The guards grew powerless as the herd of strong, persevering ran to the burning structures and began helping people down, falling over each other on the way, and their attempts to bring the crowds under control were futile.

Paulo grinned to a nearby sweating guard and ran to join the fray.

* * *

Hex saw as the three main scaffolding structures collapsed, almost in slow motion, right to the ground. He glanced over to the main building where his two main threats were, and was relieved to see one of the guards take a step forwards. For the last ten minutes, Hex had been waiting for them to move so he had a clear run inside, but they'd obviously been under strict orders to remain by the door.

For a moment, the other guard held the moving one back, but the first guard shook his head and pulled free, pointing at the fire. After a minute, the other one gave in and followed hesitantly to the fire to help put the havoc under control. Hex caught a glimpse of Paulo jumping up and down wildly and waving his hands in the air and grinned, reassured that Paulo could probably cause a distraction long enough for Hex to take a bath if he wanted to.

Across the plain, a few people were still laboriously working, but Hex could see that they were distracted and the officials were having a hard time keeping them going.

So far so good. When Hex next looked over to the main building, the coast was clear. It was now or never. Looking around him, he saw fellow workers abandoning their loads and running over to the fire, purely for the excitement of something new happening. He locked eyes with Sam, who nodded at him, then ran to join the fray.

Hex turned to the building and ran. As he approached the doorway, he glimpsed a thin figure coming out the other way, and flattened himself against the wall. The figure stepped out into the sunlight and Hex saw that it was Erica, her hands behind her back and her small eyes skeptically observing the scene before her. For a moment, Hex feared she'd stand there until the fire was put out and the workers were brought back under control, but instead she stepped down and moved forwards, beckoning to a nearby guard. This was perfect. Hex was beginning to wonder what he'd do if she was in her office, anyway.

As he leapt in through the doorway, he passed a fire button, and contemplated pressing it, just to confirm the fact pretty much the entire site was on fire now. Erica might suspect someone in the main building and turn back if it rang so soon, but what the hell... it would add to the havoc... and Hex could send an e-mail pretty damn fast anyway. He hit the alarm.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Paulo heard a yell behind him and turned, startled, to see Sam and Michael with worried faces. They were having to shout to be heard over the racket.

Paulo shrugged. "I hope so," he replied, "It's too late to turn back now."

Sam nodded his agreement and his gaze flicked over to the scaffolding falling, crashing into the next and causing a chain reaction. There was a whole crowd of people, just happy to have a few minutes of work, between them and the fire, talking excitedly and yelling to others at the far side of the crowd. Sam turned to Michael and grinned.

"Wanna start a fight?"

Michael's grin formed slowly as he grasped hold of the idea. "You bet," he replied.

"Get Henman. Nobody likes him," Sam said, indicating a tall dark-haired young man who was observing the scene in slight disgust. Paulo watched with interest as they moved quietly, as one, behind Henman, leant past him and slapped the man in front of him on the back of the head. They quickly darted back and stood next to Paulo, staring at the fire with mildly interested faces as if nothing had happened. Paulo tried not to grin when he heard the beginnings of an argument, but could not hide the smirk.

He turned his face towards the building just in time to see Hex disappear inside the doorway, and bit his lip, the smirk disappearing. It had started. From now on, anything could go wrong...

And it did. No sooner had Hex vanished from view, Paulo saw another guard turn and head towards the building, as if he'd seen Hex. He had a pistol in his hand.

* * *

**Thank you to all you endlessly patient people! Finally I have not one... but TWO new chapters! Please review :)**


	15. Moving On

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Moving on**

* * *

Amber wearily laid her head in her hands and let out a long sigh. She'd lost track of how many hours it had been since Hex and Paulo had left – 36? 48? – and she'd given up waiting on the palmtop. Alex had said they'd leave if Hex and Paulo weren't back later... how much longer?

She looked up and Li and Alex with bleary eyes. Alex was sat on the armchair, looking calm and for all the world like nothing was wrong. Amber envied his ability to keep a cool head. Alex looked up and caught her eye, and smiled, and immediately she felt better. Everything was under control. As long as Alex knew what he was doing, everything would be OK.

Li, on the other hand, was close to driving Amber and Alex crazy. With her persistent and repetitive questions, Amber was beginning to wish they'd sent her along with Paulo rather than Hex. That way, everyone would have been happy. Paulo and Li would be together, Amber would have...

She quickly cut off that line of thought and glanced up to see if anyone had noticed. Not that they could have read her thoughts anyway, but they were both looking elsewhere. Li had taken to pacing between the sofa and the door, every so often doing a little skip to try and lighten the mood. It just made Amber's frown deepen.

"Will you stop that," she asked irritably, glaring at the smaller girl. Li stopped and put her hands on her hips.

"Haven't they e-mailed yet?"

"No. Say, Alex, why don't you let Li go in as backup instead?"

"Geez, what is your problem?" Li retorted, a frown creasing her usually buoyant face.

Alex slowly unfolded his legs and leaned forwards. "Listen. We need to stick together. Li, I can understand Amber's irritation. You've done nothing in the last three hours but pace and rephrase the same question. Amber, lighten up. She's worried. Like all of us. I told you, if they're not back by five, we'll all go in. Screw the 'me being backup' idea. I'd probably only get caught myself. We'll just – "

Alex stopped as the palmtop beeped, and for a moment the three friends stayed still, simply staring at one another. Then, as one, they crowded around the palmtop to see.

"New e-mail," Alex breathed, and opened the window, "Yes."

The e-mail was from an unknown address, but opened nonetheless. Alex pulled the palmtop onto his lap, much to the girls' protests, and read the e-mail out loud.

"_Hey. We made a fire and are now escaping, meet us on the way back. Bring med kit just in case. About 200 people. Call police. Got to go, Hex."_

Alex looked up at the gaping faces of his two friends.

"Is that all?" Amber's mouth twitched and her eyebrows raised.

"What do you mean is that all!?" Li nearly squealed and jumped up from the floor. "They're OK, Amber! They've done it! And they're escaping!"

Alex couldn't help the grin that formed on his face. "We'd better hurry, though. It looks like the e-mail was written in a rush, so we should match their pace."

While Alex and Li found a medical kit and checked its contents, Amber got on the phone to the police and told them of their situation, minus the part about Hex and Paulo. At the policeman's dubious tone, she explained she'd heard a great rabble coming from the general direction of the camp, and the policeman agreed to send someone out.

"Bingo," she smiled at Li and Alex as they returned with the kit, "Let's go."

* * *

The guy was tall, but not as broad as Paulo. Paulo figured a quick knock on the head would be sufficient enough to keep him out of the game until Hex had done his part, and quietly slipped away from the rabble.

He jumped, startled, when the fire alarm started ringing, scared it was some kind of security alert. Had Hex been noticed so soon? He was reassured when he saw the sprinklers burst into life inside the building, and paused to lay a hand on his racing heart. He quickly started again. The man had reached the doorway and stopped to observe something by the side of the door. As he turned, Paulo's heart lurched when he saw the top of a gun poking out of a holster, but Paulo hadn't been seen yet.

As soon as the guard's back was turned once again, Paulo leapt forwards. His father had taught him at a young age how to knock a man out by hitting him at the back of the neck, but Paulo had never tried it before himself. It was relatively harmless, he knew, but he couldn't help the feeling of dread as he lunged for the man from behind...

The man crumpled to the ground at the contact, and Paulo quickly knelt beside him to check for a pulse. It was still there.

"_Dios_," Paulo murmured to himself, and stood up, glancing around him. Good. There was no-one in sight. He hastily turned and made to exit when he ran straight into another figure.

It was another worker, one Paulo hadn't met. He looked vaguely familiar under the surprised expression, but Paulo didn't have enough time to contemplate and grabbed the younger man by the arm and dragged him outside.

"What were you doing in there?" He asked as he let go of the young man and they ran back to the rabble.

"I saw you go in. I wanted to know what you were doing, I saw you with Michael – "

As they approached the crowd, Paulo stopped and looked at him with a sudden realisation. "You must be David."

"Is Michael in on this?"

"Yes. So's your mother. Come on, we need a bigger distraction until our friends get here..." Paulo trailed off as he saw David's eyes cloud over and he turned away. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just wondering why Michael didn't tell me anything. And you met my _mom_? Does he know?"

Paulo bit his lip. "You guys have a busy schedule. I'm sure he would have told you if he'd had the chance." Paulo watched as David started to nod, a worried look in his eye.

"I haven't really spoken to Michael for a while, to be fair. I dunno. I didn't mean to... I guess – " Paulo clapped a hand on David's shoulder and grinned.

"Save it for later, when you're back at home. In the meantime, what do you say we start moving the crowd out?"

* * *

Hex hastily closed the e-mail window and stood up, ready to leave, when he had a sudden idea. Erica's – or Hannah Gates' – entire hard drive and e-mail account was right at his fingertips... surely he had enough time to do some prying?

Outside of the office window, he noticed several guards run to the crowd with bulky fire extinguishers. His time was limited, but at the moment, he was pretty sure the building was deserted. He found the chain of e-mails that they'd found previously, but there was nothing new. If only 'TD' hadn't made his address private, it would make Hex's job a lot easier. If he had TD's e-mail, he could find out who he was, no problem.

He scanned through the e-mails until he got to the first in the chain, a proposition from TD. At the bottom of the page, the letter was signed with 'TD' and a few numbers. It didn't take a genius to work out the numbers were some sort of phone number.

Hex heard footsteps outside and jumped out of the seat. Quickly memorising the number, he covered his tracks, shut down the computer and hit the monitor power button. Once at the door, he peered out to see a guard entering the building, a large wrench in his hand.

"Damn," Hex cursed, and ducked back into the room and behind the door as the guard passed by. For a moment Hex's heart seemed to stop – if he was caught now, what would happen? Would he be held captive while Paulo and the others got away? The guard stopped outside the room, peered in, and apparently deciding it was empty, moved on to the next. Hex breathed a sigh of relief.

He turned and dashed out of the building. There was a large unconscious guard on the floor, and for a moment Hex stopped, startled. Was there something else going on...?

Paulo's waving caught his eye, and Hex stepped over the limp body and ran towards his friend, the relief evident in his face. Paulo was standing away with a boy Hex didn't recognise, and the crowd was moving, he noticed, towards the mountains. Was it finally working?

"Hex," Paulo grinned as Hex reached them, "This is David. Michael's brother." As the three of them started moving towards the crowd to push them forwards, Paulo subtly turned to Hex.

"Did you send it?" he said in a low voice. Hex nodded, still pumping with adrenaline.

"I also got a phone number, possibly TD's," he replied. Paulo grinned.

"Brilliant."

* * *

This was hard work, Michael reflected, as he broke up yet another fight and pushed the two men towards the edge of the site. His arm was aching from countless times he'd had to step in and separate people, and by the looks on Sam and Greg's faces, they were feeling the same. Where was Paulo? And Hex? He stopped for a moment and glanced around, panting.

"Where are they?" He muttered to himself, scanning the crowd. Greg appeared beside him.

"They should be here any minute," he said, laying a hand on his friend's shoulder, "I wouldn't worry. They know what they're doing." Michael nodded, grateful for his words, but he couldn't help biting his lip as they waited.

His heart soared when he saw Paulo and Hex making their way over, a third figure on Paulo's left. Paulo was grinning – that could only mean good news.

Michael's attention turned to the third figure, and his stomach leapt into his mouth when he noticed the familiar face of his brother, David. They hadn't spoken for over a year. Was this the time when it would all change?

David looked up from the ground, and Michael suddenly realised he was staring. He looked away, and was met by an unwelcome sight...

Erica was walking purposefully towards the rabble, a look of absolute rage on her face. She was flanked by four officers, carrying large AK-47s. This couldn't be good. In a panic, Michael turned back to Paulo, Hex and David, who still hadn't seen them, and waved his friends over.

They must have picked up on his franticness, because they picked up the pace.

"Oh, crap..." Sam muttered in Michael's left ear, and he could only nod in agreement.

* * *

Erica stopped a few metres from the large crowd and held out a hand to halt her four officers in tow. They stopped in unison, and she nodded to a large man on her left. He raised his gun in the air and fired a shot, the bang echoing around the entire site.

Immediately the havoc stopped. They seemed well trained, Paulo mused... or well practiced. Evidently they'd had experience with guns like these before. Paulo had a good view of the situation from behind Erica's back, and they hadn't been noticed. There was a deathly silence as every young man stopped in the middle of whatever he was doing and turned slowly to face the boss, their eyes worried and faces sweaty.

Erica cleared her throat. "Would somebody care to tell me what is going on?" The only answer was the crackling of the fire behind her, and the swoosh of the fire extinguishers that seemed worlds away. Someone shifted to their other foot.

"No?" Erica said with a sickly sweet smile, and some brave soul shook his head. Erica sighed over-dramatically and shrugged. "Well, in that case, I suppose it's nothing out of the ordinary. Get back to work. All of you."

Nobody moved, and Erica's patient smile turned into a scowl. She nodded once more, and the officer pointed his gun at a boy no older than fourteen at the front of the crowd. There was the hiss of an intake of breath, and slowly people began to move again, the disappointment clear on their faces. It was over, and it seemed there was nothing Paulo could do about it.

* * *

**Huge thanks go to my beta, Elledreamer, and I forgot to mention her in the last chapter! You're awesome :) Hope you liked this chapter! Only one more, and then the epilogue to go. So... what's going to happen? Review!**

**Spinky :D**


	16. Escape

**So the problem was finally sorted!**

**As it turned out, Elle tried to send me this ages ago along with the oneshot, but silly FF said 'your outbox is full' in teeny weeny letters. It's happened to me before, too. **

**I know it's been a long time. A quick update: Amber, Alex and Li have finally recieved word from Hex and Paulo, while the latter two were just about to carry out the escape plans when Erica foiled them all. So is the final chapter, except for the epilogue. Thanks for all your support, guys, I really appreiciate it :-)**

* * *

**Chapter Sixteen**

**Escape**

"How do you read this thing? Give me a map any day."

Alex raised his eyes heavenward, turning to Amber with an exasperated expression on his face. "Amber, stop turning it upside down. It's not a piece of paper; it moves as you move." He took the palmtop from her grasp, righted it, and set it back in her hands. "Besides, Hex would cry if he saw you holding it like that."

His comment had the desired effect on the heavy-hearted group. Amber's lip raised in the tiniest of smirks and Li released a giggle.

"It's a long way," she said, stretching her tired arms, "How much further, Amber?"

Amber shrugged. "Where does it say...? There's a little '3' in this corner, and another number next to it..."

Alex peered over her shoulder. "We've gone that far... just 3 to go."

Li bounced up and down, wracking Alex's nerves. "3 what? Miles? Kilometres? Yards?"

"Kilometres."

Alex lacked the heart to play along. In his mind he had a goal, and he wouldn't relax until he got there. They had been travelling for miles, and eventually even Li had started to complain about Alex's single-minded attitude. He felt as though the last couple days had been a blur; waiting was always the hardest part. Waiting for his father to return home, for his friends to send word from a dangerous situation... it was always the same.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, each lost in their own thoughts. The quiet was dented regularly with the shuffle of their feet on the ground and heavy breathing.

"Oh, crap," Amber suddenly cursed after another ten minutes. Alex continued walking, waiting for her to elaborate, but when she didn't he stopped and turned. She was staring at him, biting her lip as if waiting for a scolding.

"What?" Li came up behind Amber and peered over her shoulder at the palmtop. Her eyes widened and she worried her lower lip in an unconscious parody of Amber's earlier movement. "Uh oh."

"What is it?" Alex felt his stomach drop as all sorts of situations hurried through his mind. Had Hex send another e-mail bearing bad news? Was someone hurt? Had the plan folded...?

"Battery's gone." Amber sighed and rubbed a hand over her face. Alex experienced a small wave of relief before realising the implications of Amber's statement. "I'm sorry, guys. I should have..."

"You should have what, Amber?" Li, as usual, was the first to bounce back. "Brought your super-magical charger along? Drop it. Stop blaming yourself. We charged it up fully justbefore we left; there's nothing more we could have done."

"But – "

"But nothing, Amber," Alex cut in, knowing all too well the guilty feeling and the pointless effects it had, "Li's right. So, for the moment, we're screwed. But we'll find a solution."

"What solution?! Don't you understand? _I'm _the navigator here. _I'm _the one with all the skills in map reading and orientation. And I haven't got a clue where we are! We have another two kilometres, and they could be in any direction! I don't know where to start, you don't understand..."

"Amber,"

"Two kilometres that way, or two that way... we're lost. Hex and Paulo will have to find their own way out. We should never have done this..."

"Amber!"

"Who's _stupid _idea was it to send in two of us so unprepared? This is all wrong. It's all my fault, I should have only used the palmtop to check we were on track. They're depending on us..."

"_Amber_!!" Li grabbed Amber's upper arm and spun her around to face her. "Amber, listen to me." Li's voice softened and Alex ducked away from the awkward moment, unsure of how to react. Hysterics were not something he dealt with on a regular basis; his mother was a calm woman and his father was a strong man. He knew Amber had not meant the things she had said; she was stressed. They all were. Waiting did that to you.

Alex sat down on the ground and listened to Li's soothing tones.

"Nobody blames you, Amber. You need to calm down. Getting worked up like this isn't going to help anyone."

"I'm sorry..."

"No, it's OK. We're _not _lost; we still have a general idea of our direction. The camp's pretty hard to miss, I'm sure. So pull yourself together. It's OK."

"But Hex..."

"Hex and Paulo will be just fine." Alex risked a glance at the two girls and saw Li draw Amber into a hug, rubbing circles on her back. Li was whispering in Amber's ear, too low for Alex to hear, but he had the distinct impression that Amber wasn't the only one being reassured by Li's last words.

Feeling awkward again, Alex turned to play with the sand beneath his fingers. After a moment, he heard movement and Li spoke up.

"Can we take a break, Alex? Just to gather our options." Alex was all too inclined to oblige and shifted over to face the two girls when they sat by him. He got the water from his bag and took a swig, while Amber and Li followed suit. He was conscious that they needed to get moving; who knew what Hex and Paulo were up to? But at the moment he was unwilling to push the girls until they were ready.

"OK," Amber said after a while, and Alex and Li gave her their full attention. She pointed ahead, "We were headed in that direction. From what I last remember seeing on the screen, it was pretty much a straight line ahead, with a small wiggle in the middle. But I'm sure that when we get closer we'll be able to hear the camp before we see it."

Alex was glad that Amber was thinking clearly again. He nodded and tucked away his water.

"Are you ready?" He said to the others as they packed away their own bottles. Li nodded, followed by Amber a moment later. He smiled back and stood up, gesturing to the others to do the same.

It was important to give Amber a sense of responsibility: even though she hadn't screwed up in Li's or Alex's eyes, she would feel the need to redeem herself.

"Lead us on, Amber."

* * *

Sam's heart sank.

For the first time in two years, he'd allowed himself to feel excited; to dare to dream of what lay beyond the perimeter fences of their prison. He'd imagined what life could be like.

And now he remembered why he hadn't pictured the future for two years.

Disappointment was bitter. It was better to accept your fate than kid yourself that it was going to get better, only to be let down later. He began to move forwardwith the downcast crowd dispersing to their various tasks.

Let down.

Sam supposed the best thing to do was get back his old frame of mind somehow; the one that wasn't yearning for freedom or planning about the future. He needed to be able to put up with what he had.

He looked up as Erica lowered her gun, a satisfied smirk on her features. He hated that face. It was the one with no emotion; that watched and said nothing while young men suffered before her eyes. The face that merely looked on with mild interest as two hundred faint hopes faded around her and thought nothing of it.

Sam had never been a quick-tempered guy, and the feeling of ire growing within him was an unfamiliar sensation. For the moment, he was happy to let it continue. He hoped it would make him to something irrational. He didn't care if it got him hurt; or killed, even... he wanted a change, and if it gave the others hope...

It suddenly clicked.

If he did something drastic enough, he could take the attention of all of the officers and Erica so that Paulo and Hex's plan of escape could still go ahead. But what could he do alone, that would work?

Erica had long since lowered her weapon, and was already turning away, not expectant. The boy was no longer in any danger; he could act! If he did something fast, faster than Erica could turn and shoot someone...?

Paulo's roaming figure behind Erica confirmed Sam's idea. Paulo was following her turned back in order not to be seen; he had a plan. Sam watched him for a moment, while Paulo appeared to be searching for something on the ground. And then Paulo looked up, and for the briefest moment they had eye contact.

The movement was so subtle that Sam would have missed it had he not been studying Paulo's every move. But the tiniest of nods meant everything; that Paulo had something planned and it wasn't over yet. All he needed was more diversion.

Sam nodded in return and grabbed Greg's arm as he passed. Greg turned.

"Fight with me."

"What? But – "

"We cause a scene; Paulo gets them all out of here."

For a long moment, Greg stared at Sam. They both knew the risks; they didn't have to speak of them. Sam waited patiently for Greg to make his decision.

Greg nodded fiercely, and Sam was sure the sudden fire in his eyes mirrored his own.

"I'm with you."

Without another word, Sam looked his friend in the eye and hit him across the face.

* * *

As soon as Paulo saw the first punch and the first heads turn, he pushed Hex towards the crowd. They'd already discussed this in whispers a few seconds before, and prayer was their only hope right now.

Erica and the officers turned back, a look of complete fury on the former's face. That was the only distraction Paulo needed.

Hex jumped and started herding the crowd back in their original direction.

"Move!" he yelled, desperately catching their eyes to get them on his side, "It's not over! Keep going!" There was a gap in the fence where deliveries came in and out, and when the men saw their chance, they followed easily. The first gunshot caused a few hesitancies, but Hex pushed on, knowing it was just a threat. Paulo had it under control.

"_Stop_!" Erica's shriek brought quietness, but not silence. The buzz was not over and the fight continued, Michael now included. Hex turned to see Erica locked in Paulo's massive grip, with a shard of glass held to her throat. Erica held up her hands to stop all gunfire, and Paulo grinned at Hex from her shoulder. Hex grinned back and continued with his job. Their hearts lifted and they began moving once again.

Meanwhile, Paulo was having the time of his life. He'd wanted to get his hands on this woman, and he knew he was doing this for every man who had been held under her rule. He muttered in her ear.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons and line up by that fence."

"Fool," Erica spat, "I could just get one of them to shoot you instead.

"I wouldn't underestimate my reaction times. I go, you go."

Paulo had to think quickly. While he was safe for the moment, once he had let go of Erica, how would he ensure that nobody would shoot or follow, had they no threat?

"Ha! You realise that this is not about me? It's about my boss..."

"You mean you don't care about your own life? Well then..." Paulo pressed the glass a little harder against her throat, but didn't break the skin. Erica's eyes widened, and Paulo continued. "If this is about TD," he watched as an expression of horror came over Erica's face, "You needn't worry about him."

He hoped his bluff would pull off. In truth, TD was still out of the picture for them. He watched as Hex and the crowd approached the gap in the fence and began passing through. The fight before them broke up, and Sam, Greg and Michael stood, waiting for Paulo.

Paulo took her silence to mean fear. "It's over, _Hannah_. You're working for no-one now. Tellyour men to line up by the fence." Erica made a small hand gesture, andPaulo waited until every one of them stood weaponless. "My friend will know if I don't get out of here. One word from us, and the police are on their way. Now, don't follow us, or shoot. Do I have your word?"

Erica glared at Paulo out of the corner of her eye. It was a dirty trick to pull when he knew the police were already on their way, if Li and the girls had received their e-mail, but women like Erica didn't deserve to be played nice with.

"Your word," he repeated.

"You have it."

Slowly, Paulo released the woman, and she sank to the ground. He walked around her and nodded to the three boys as he passed, and together they jogged to catch up with their friends.

* * *

"Mike," Michael stopped in his chatter with Sam and Greg, looking around for the all too familiar voice. They had been walking for half an hour, and so far there had been no problems. The group followed Paulo and Hex who walked up ahead. Ten minutes ago they had reunited with three other people; two girls and a boy who knew Paulo and Hex. They had come with first aid kits and food that had been passed around the crowd.

"Michael," the voice came again, and this time Michael saw the owner. He saw his younger brother squeezing through the crowd to get to him, and subconsciously slowed down to meet him. Greg and Sam shared a glance and moved away.

When David reached him, they stopped at the edge of the crowd and David started speaking immediately.

"Mike, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have... I didn't know..." he gushed, but Michael put hand on his forearm, stopping all speech.

"It's OK, man." David shook his head, opening his mouth, but his older brother stopped him once again, "Dave, listen to me. I struggled too, OK? It's normal. I don't blame you for the last two years. They sure sucked, but as long as you're OK... you're OK?" David nodded. "As long as you're OK, we'll all be OK. And we'll get back to mom, and I'll fix her door, and you can start helping around the house a bit." That brought a half smile to his younger brother's face.

"Will mom be OK?" Michael knew that David had grown in the last two years; he was now all of fifteen years old. But the scared look on his face and the small voice that asked that question belied his age.

An overwhelming compassion filled Michael and he drew David in for a hug, holding him there in his arms.

"She'll be just fine. Hex and Paulo? They met her. And she can't wait to see us."

David sighed contentedly and sagged against his older brother, feeling safe for the first time in far too long.

"I can't wait to see her, either."

* * *

"Aw, they've made up," Sam grinned, watching the two brothers over his shoulder. Greg gave him a playful punch on the arm.

"Leave them to it. I never knew you could fight that dirty. My nose still aches." Sam turned to face Greg, serious for once. His lower face was still spotted in dry blood, and there was a bruise forming around his jaw. Sam doubted he looked much better himself.

"You should get Paulo to check it out. I can't see out of this eye still." Sam pointed to his left eye, which was swollen to the size of a golf ball.

"Yeah, you too. Let's go." They started pushing forwards to the front of the group, calling for Paulo's attention. When he finally turned, he was with the other blond boy they had met on the way.

Paulo grinned at the sight of them. "You are a mess," he told them, taking them to one side. "This is Alex. He helped us to do this whole thing."

Alex looked awkward somewhat as he raised a hand in acknowledgement to the two boys. Paulo checked them over, nodding in satisfaction upon seeing that their injuries were none too serious.

"Greg, you just need to clean up. It's not broken, but it'll probably be sore for a while. Sam, it just needs an icepack when you get home. And clean it; make sure it doesn't get infected. Other than that, I thought you came out very well from the fight. Is Michael OK?"

"Oh, he's fine," Sam breezed, "He can't really fight anyway. He just wanted to look cool." Sam grinned and Greg burst out laughing.

"Thanks, Paulo, Alex. Say thanks to Hex for us," Greg suddenly turned serious. He remembered to include Alex in his gaze, even though the blond hadn't been up front in the plan.

"And those two," Sam added, nodding towards the girls, "Were they in this, too?" When Alex nodded, he turned to look at them again. "Man, I haven't seen a nice girl in _years_..."

"Back off," Paulo suddenly put in, but his harsh tone wasn't supported with his grin, "They're taken."

"_What_!?" Alex stared at Paulo, incredulous, "Are you saying..."

"Well," Paulo corrected himself, "You can have Amber..."

Sam winked. "I think I'll go and thank them personally. Which one is Amber?"

Paulo laughed, and it felt good. In the distance he heard police sirens grow closer and then fade as they approached the site. And he could have sworn he heard a high pitched scream of fury a second later. It sounded exactly like Erica.

Paulo was content.

* * *

**TBC...**


	17. Epilogue

**I know this took me ages! But good news! This story is finally over. This is only the epilogue, so there's no ground-breaking material, but I couldn't sleep until I'd wrapped this one up :)**

**Hope you lot enjoyed this fragment of my imagination!**

**Spinky.**

* * *

**Epilogue**

* * *

"Amber, stop bugging me. I'm nearly done."

"All I'm saying is, you've been sat at your laptop for the last half an hour, being antisocial. Even the lizards are crawling away from you because you're emitting boring waves at the frequency of... I don't know... light?"

Hex graced Amber with a stare for a moment before replying. "You want to stick to talking about things you know about?"

"I could update you on Gucci's latest handbag..."

"No, but thanks. Why don't you go and tell your new... _friend_." Hex briefly indicated Sam with a nod of his head before turning his attention back to the screen. Amber sighed with an exaggerated flip of her hands and rolled her eyes.

"Fine." She stomped off to join another conversation, and Li sidled in to take her place.

"So, Hex," she began conversationally, twiddling a strand of hair between her fingers."

"Can this wait?"

Li ignored him. "Did I detect a touch of bitterness in that tone? Regret, perhaps?"

"What?" Hex did not look up, but his fingers tensed and he missed a key.

"Amber's new _friend_. Jealousy, maybe?"

Hex hit three wrong keys and missed the backspace, cursing under his breath. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Of course he doesn't, Li," Alex appeared with a grin, "Hex? Feelings? Naw. In fact, I'm seeing a lot of chemistry between Amber and her new... _friend._"

"Oh, me too. We should definitely hook them up. And seeing as Amber's single and free, I see no problem with it..."

Hex gave up trying to type with jelly fingers and raised his eyes just enough to glare at his two friends. The setting sun behind them made it difficult.

"Excuse me," he deadpanned, "I am trying to bring down TD. You are not helping. If you don't shut up, I can merely activate the self destruct button on my palmtop and kiss this mission goodbye."

Detecting the niggle of annoyance in Hex's voice, Alex laughed and turned away. Hex would always be available for teasing after he'd finished whatever he was doing. Li however, lingered a moment longer before bouncing off to join Paulo in amusing some of the younger boys.

* * *

"Done." Hex finally announced in a voice so casual he could have been talking to himself, and shut the lid of his palmtop. The reaction, however, was much bigger.

Li and Paulo whooped with delight and Paulo swung her around in a bearhug, while Alex patted Hex on the back and Amber awkwardly received a hug from Sam.

"How did you even do it? You didn't know where he was!" Alex exclaimed, sitting down next to Hex. Hex responded with a smile nothing short of smug.

"Easy."

"No, tell me how."

"I contacted my magic fairy friends." Leaving Alex feeling frustrated, Hex stood up and sought out Amber, who was all too glad to be rescued from her admirer. "This was a good one, huh?" He mentioned, as they walked away from the bulk of the crowd where the cheering was less deafening.

"They all are. Especially when we succeed."

"Which is...when..." Hex pretended to count on his fingers, "Wait, it's all of them so far. We're a great team."

"I know. So tell me, how _did_ you track down TD?"

"I don't think I told you... I found his number when I was in Erica's room. Did a little research to check that it actually _was _his number, and then gave it to the local police in a report, as well as his details and proof of this whole situation. He's been hiding out in a club at San Francisco; they should expect a raid in the next few hours."

"Oh, that's brilliant. I wish we could be there."

"Me too."

They stood for a moment, and then ducked away from the awkward silence and looked back at the crowd. Amber sighed contentedly. They'd arrived back at the village earlier that evening, and witnessed several emotional reunions. Debbie had all but collapsed with compassion when she'd met her two sons, dragging them both into her arms for a lengthy embrace and sobbing out words of relieved anguish.

Greg and Alice had been funny; while Alice had jumped up and down and squeaked with delight, Greg pretended to look embarrassed by his twin sister until he'd given in and hugged her tight.

Around these were numerous other meetings. While all the lost men had been reunited with their families and loved ones, Alpha Force had stood in a circle in companionable silence and just embraced the warm atmosphere, smiling at yet another mission complete.

The entire work force was staying at the village under the stars for the night, until a team of builders were arriving in the morning to help build accommodation and a whole new community for those that had nowhere else to go, financed by Amber's uncle, John Middleton. Three coaches were also arranged to take others back to their homes who had not come locally.

There was a distant clatter as the women prepared a giant meal for the whole community. All the crops and produce was being used in order to supply for one big celebration that evening, and the men were working together to find anything that could be used as a table or chair to prepare the seating.

Right now Amber wanted to be nowhere else. Though they weren't saying anything, just being next to Hex was making her feel warm and tingly, and she welcomed the feeling with no hesitation. Wondering if Hex felt it too, she glanced upwards.

They were interrupted by Li, who came bounding up to the pair, saying, "Debbie and some of the other women are preparing a celebratory meal for tonight. We're all invited, and she says we're not allowed to not come. And Hex, they want to hear all about your and Paulo's story."

"Sure thing," Amber replied for both of them, and they were welcomed back to the crowd with open arms and questions coming from every direction.

* * *

"Round three!" Debbie called as she scurried down one side of the long table, heaping rice on anyone's plate that was piled less than two inches high. Right behind her came two more women carrying plates of chilli and drinks, and another with a trolley to pick up empty plates.

Paulo grinned at Debbie as she hurried past.

"_Gracias, Señora_," he called, "The service here is wonderful."

Debbie grinned over her shoulder and shook her head in mock disgust. Paulo smiled in return and turned to Li.

"I lifted two hundred pounds at a time in the camp, did you know that?" Alex glanced at Hex, who shook his head with a smirk.

"Really." Li was unimpressed.

"Sometimes even three hundred. I had to take off my shirt because it was so hot."

"And all the other guys were asking him how he worked out," Alex joined in, "Because they wanted to try it."

"They were jealous," Paulo sniffed, "And I told them it was a natural workout. Just plain, pure hard-workingness..."

"Hard work, Paulo," Amber corrected him. Paulo waved the comment away.

"Three hundred pounds is a lot, yes?" Paulo pressed for a reaction from Li, who shrugged.

"When we get to your ranch next summer, lift up a cow for me with one hand. Then I'll be impressed." She winked and took a spoonful of chilli, turning away and chatting with Amber. Paulo looked positively delighted.

Debbie came back down on the other side of the table, stopping next to her two sons and hugging them from behind. "I'm so happy to have my babies back," she murmured as she planted a kiss on the top of each one's head.

"Mom," Michael pretended to be embarrassed but grinned anyway. "You guys can come back anytime. You'll always be welcome here."

"Yeah," David agreed enthusiastically, "You will come see us again, won't you?" Debbie stood behind them, a hand on each shoulder after giving away the last of the food down the end of the table. Alex smiled back.

"Of course we will," he said.

"As long as you cook for us, Debbie," Paulo suggested hopefully, and Li smacked him in the arm.

"You're always welcome. And you know where to find us. I doubt we'll be moving out anytime soon; although Ryan has said the boys can have their old job back once they're well fed again. But now I think of it, I sort of like life here. The simple life."

Her sons nodded in agreement and she moved away.

Li suddenly pushed a slip of paper into Amber's hands with a smirk. Amber raised a questioning eyebrow before unfolding it to find a phone number scribbled with a name – Sam. Amber rolled her eyes and looked down the table to where Sam was watching her intently for her reaction.

She shook her head slightly and indicated Hex with a fork while he was talking to Greg and Alice. Sam just grinned and shrugged, turning to talk to a girl on his right.

Amber looked away only to be greeted by a smiling Alex. "You saw nothing," she hissed. Alex grinned all the wider and Amber tried to ignore him.

* * *

Darkness approached and the wind picked up when the tables and chairs had been cleared away. Exhausted, the five members of Alpha Force found themselves left alone while Debbie settled her sons and made room for them in the main room. Amber suppressed a shiver that she thought went unnoticed, until Hex subtly passed her his jacket.

"I love this feeling. This is the best feeling in the world," Paulo expressed his emotions and the others murmured their agreement.

"I don't want this to end." Li's comment brought a silence over the group, and for a couple minutes nobody spoke.

"Well, look what we've got out of the last few days... new friends, an ego-boost and a love interest for Amber..." Paulo smirked when Amber hissed playfully in his direction.

"I don't need a love interest, Cupid."

Li jumped on this immediately. "Why, is there someone else? Ooohh, who is it?"

"Tsk. So immature." But Amber was grinning, and so were all the others. Even Hex had stowed away his palmtop for the last evening. Tomorrow they were heading back to the airport, where they would say their goodbyes until the next break.

Alex stretched his long limbs and nodded his head towards the sky. "Anyone fancy sleeping under the stars tonight? I feel like we were partially robbed of our hiking experience..."

"What? Sleep outside when there's a perfectly good roof over there?"

"Snap out of it, Amber. I'm up for it, Alex," Hex contributed, and the others nodded their agreement. Amber sighed and shook her head.

"How did I end up on vacation with such a bunch of weirdoes..."

"You love us, Amber."

"Too right I do, Li. Why else would I be here?" She grinned at the shorter girl and Alpha Force set up camp for the night, under Alex's direction. One by one the stars appeared, covering the sky like the rescued men, and set the scene to end another successful mission.

* * *

**The End.**


End file.
